BTT x Depressed Reader
by oEnvy
Summary: When you live a life of suffering, bullying, and depression; what happens when the BTT come into your life? And what happens when the 2P characters are thrown into the equation? Unexpected plot twists and feels ensue.
1. Prologue

**Warning: This is rated T because of some swearing & violence &... well... this is a Depressed!Reader story, so...**

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_Hello everyone! So glad to see that people are actually going to be reading a story of mine ;o; Makes me oh so very happy!_

_Anywho, this is just a prologue I wrote to someone else's story ((They're also on Deviantart, and I'll link to them when I'm able to get on that site again...))_

_Happy reading!_

**OH! & I'd absolutely love to have feedback, comments, reviews, pm's, & whatever :D This is my first fanfiction, & I might write more, but it'd greatly based on all of yours feedback!**

**Please encourage me!**

**Disclamer: I don't own Hetalia. Or the BTT. Or Hima-whatshisface. Or you.  
Because if I did... **_Ohonhonhonhonhon..._

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Today was going to be another great day of school, you just knew it!

You shoved another spoonful of cereal into your mouth, the thought of seeing all of your friends at school again made your heart leap with excitement. Squirming around in your seat, lost in thoughts about having another day at school, you were slightly startled when you felt hands close over eyes.

"Guess whoooo?" A voice called out cheerfully.

You giggled, still a bit shaken from being starled, "Mom, let go silly, I'm trying to eat my breakfast."

She squealed childlishly as she pulled her hands away, "Awh, how did you know, _? It's not like we're the only ones living here..."

You laughed at your mothers sarcasm as you set your bowl in the sink, finished with breakfast.

"Haha, how funny." You said, grabbing your backpack as you walked towards the door.

"Take care darling!" You heard your mother cry out as you left. You smiled at the kindness of your mom.

Life was great here.

-Time skip (Can you believe I almost typed Bus Skip?)-

You made it a bit early to class, so you were sitting at your desk waiting for the teacher to come in.

"Bonjour _!" You turned around in your seat to suddenly see Francis walking towards you, Antonio and Gilbert not far behind.

"Hey guys, long time no see!" You grined as you stood up to greet them each with a hug.

"It's only been a weekend, frau." The Prussian smirked at you as you shrugged.

"Two days, a year, it's all the same to me."

You all would have talked some more with one another, if the teacher hadn't walked in at that time, the bell ringing a few seconds later, indicating that class was to start.

"Take a seat everyone." The teacher called out as everyone scurried to take an empty seat.

You sat at the back of the room. You never really paid any attention in class, spending the time daydreaming instead.

"_... _?" You jumped when your teacher said your name, your look up to see the teacher glaring at you. How long had you been daydreaming exactly?

"Have you been paying attention at all? Are you listening to me?" You teacher loudly asked you.

You just stared back blankly.

"Earth to _, earth to _."

The voice slowly changed from the teachers to your mothers. What the heck?

You felt like the room was twisting and turning, the light was dimming and the faces around you disappearing.

Suddenly you felt a sharp pain on your cheek; someone had slapped you. It took a few blinks for you notice that you were actually still at home. That all of that stuff about having friends, being happy, and having a pleasant family was just all part of your imagination.

"WHAT THE HELL _? ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME!?" Your mother screamed into your face, spit flying everywhere as her face turned red from rage.

"U-Uh... well..." You stuttered, you actually hadn't been paying attention to her, you had been off in your own little daydream world where everything was perfect. "Of course I heard you," Your voice barely audible.

"DON'T LIE TO ME!" She continued to scream, "I'm doing this all for your own good! Pay attention for once! I swear, you're just going to end up living on the streets!" She screamed at you, pouring the everyday hurtful words she said to you.

"You disgust me! Want to know why you have no friends? Want to know why you'll never have anybody? It's just because you are you, _! You'll never amount to anything!" She waved a report card in front of your face, and you remembered the reason she had started lecturing you in the first place.

You had forgotten to study for a quiz in history class the other day, and had gotten a D on it. It didn't do anything to your grade though. You had straight A's all around, a measly quiz score shouldn't matter. But not to your mom. iEverything/i mattered to her.

You interrupted her string of insults, noticing that you hadn't been paying attention again, "Mom, it's just a quiz. It doesn't matter."

"Doesn't matter? Doesn't matter!?" She paused for a moment of thought, before dragging you to your room, "I know the reason you've been failing in class, bitch." She went up to your dresser and snatched your iPod, "It's because of this. All you do is listen to music!"

You're eyes went wide as you watched her throw it onto the ground and stomp on it, deeming it unusable.

"Well, here's to your music. It's better to work on homework than to listen to this crap!" She stomped out of the room, leaving you standing there in shock.

You fell to the floor as you picked up the remains of your iPod. Music was your lifeline; it was what you went to when you needed to relax. You saw tears fall to the floor as you stared at the broken glass of your iPod screen.

Music was all you had, and now, it was gone.

Now, you had nothing.

-Next day-

The morning passed by in a blur. You had put a (f/c) hoodie on, and had managed to get out of the house before your mom woke up. You didn't eat breakfast, like always.

-Later on-

Leaving class for lunch, you watched as people laughed and socialized, giggled and told jokes to one another. But not you. You didn't bother anyone, and no one bothered you. People knew you as the one who didn't talk, there were even rumors going around that you were mute, but you didn't care; they could say whatever they wanted, you had given up talking a while ago.

Speaking only brought up more trouble anyways.

The halls were empty at this time, since everyone was either in the lunchroom or outside enjoying the fresh air. You were just going to go sit at your normal spot, when you heard some voices in another hallway.

"The hell do you think you are, punk?"

"Just give us your money and we'll leave you alone, da?"

You turned the corner and almost ran into the bullies. You noticed that a bunch of what seemed like the '2P' bunch had cornered a boy known as Sealand.

"I-I only have enough for today's food though!" The little boy stammered.

One of the boys waved a bat in front of the boy, standing in front of him with an air of confidence, "Doesn't sound like enough for me." He said, raising the bat in a way that seemed like he was going to hit the kid.

You weren't one for jumping in and saving others, but you couldn't just sit and watch these guys kill the child.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" You yelled loudly, making the 2P's jump, as well as almost scaring yourself. You weren't used to speaking so loudly. "How are you even allowed to carry that thing to school?" You motioned to the students bat.

"U-Uhh..." He faltered just enough for Sealand to make a break down the hallway.

The 2P's turned back to you, glaring. "Wrong move, bitch. You just scared our source of money away." Dark aura's surrounded the gang as the one holding a hockey stick pinned you back against a locker. "Seems like you'll have to be punished."

Your eyes widened and you struggled to get away, but his hold was too strong. "What's wrong? Nothing to say now?" The one with the bat came closer, swinging a fist to your face, and another to your gut.

You felt the air being knocked out of you as you doubled over, clutching at your stomach. You could already feel your eye starting to swell from where he had punched you.

You got up and started to run away, until the guy holding a pipe grabbed your hoodie and dragged you back to the center of the 2P's. They all had you surrounded in a circle now, with no escape.

"Now let me show you what we do with little girls who stick their noses in where they don't belong." He raised his bat as they all proceeded to beat at you.

-A few minutes later-

"I think you've got the message now."  
You were barely able to stand right now, as you lie in a small pool of your own blood.

One of them, you couldn't tell who, picked you up and shoved you into a confined space.

"W-What are you..." You stuttered as everything went dark, as they closed whatever you were confined in.

"No need to let evidence lying around. Don't worry, honey, someone's bound to let you out of that locker sooner or later. Right?"

You started sobbing as you heard their footsteps walking away.

Why couldn't you just have that normal happy life you always dreamed of?


	2. Found

**Hello again! I know I said that I wasn't going to post this next part, since it wasn't written by me, but I figured I'd add it for easy access and reading. Sorry for the trouble. **

**I was going to ask the writer if I could put up their part here, but it seems that they have deactivated their account! So I can't ask them if I can, so all I can do is give them credit.**

They were going to write more parts, but since they're deactivated, I now doubt it. So I might have to rack my brain for a story; I'll gladly take the responsibility to write this out!

**If you guys have any ideas, or suggestions, please do tell me in a review or pm! I love to hear from you!  
& I'd love any ideas for future parts; if I take a suggestion, I'll credit you of course!**

**BTT belongs to Himaruya, as does Hetalia.  
Credit of this story: DarkAngelicNightmare**

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"Yeah, and then he was like, _'You can't beat me, man!'_, and then I completely kicked his a**!" A round of "Kesesese!"s erupted from the pride-filled albino, his ruby-colored eyes nearly spilling with tears at how hard he was laughing.

"Whoo! You go mí amígo!"A tall, dark-skinned boy smiled, his green eyes glittering.

"Oui! Good job, mon amí!" The blonde Frenchman walking beside the other two smirked, flipping his wavy hair over his shoulder. A group of sophomore girls passed by them, and the male winked, his cerulean orbs sending the females into an insane fit of giggles.

These three seniors were Gilbert Beilschmidt, from Prussia, Antonio Carriedo, from Spain, and Francis Bonnefoy, from France, known to themselves as the Bad Friends Trio, and to everyone else, the Bad _Touch_Trio.

The corridor of Gakuen Hetalia was nearly empty, save the few freshmen that darted in and out of various rooms. On each male's face he wore a grin of some kind. They were, by ranking, the most popular group in the school, next to the American boy, Alfred, and his group he nicknamed,"The Allies".

Still laughing, the confidence-filled men barely noticed the incessant clanging that sounded from the inside of one of the lockers. Only upon the third round of frantic knocks did they finally notice it, and, because of their deep love for trouble, Gilbert led the group of boy's to the source-locker of the noise, and lifted his finger to his lips.

"Güten tag!" He cackled into the slots in the front of the metal door.

"Pl-please! Someone...please let me out!" A voice cried in response, and the banging paused.

"Oh~?" He snickered. "And why should we?"

"W-we?" The voice whimpered back. "Who's we?"

Gilbert pressed his palm over his mouth to conceal his body-shaking laughter, and motioned for Antonio to continue on.

_"We are-_" The Spaniard could hardly hold in his own chuckles as he deepened his voice to an intimidating level. "The spirits of your past evil deeds! Oooooh~!"

He had expected the trapped person to laugh at his ridiculous ghost impression, but froze at the noise they made.

They were sobbing.

_Sobbing._

Neither Francis or Gilbert seemed to realize this though as they continued to torment the poor person.

"Oui! We are here to confront you about the evil in your soul!" Francis laughed.

_"P-please..."_, the person moaned, "i-it _hurts_..."

"Prepare yourself, boy!" Gilbert followed up, pulling a bobby pin from his pocket. He pushed it into the old-styled key lock and fiddled around with it until a soft click was heard. "You're time of redemption is at hand!"

The metal door swung open and a body tumbled out.

The figure that slumped to the ground wore a (f/c) hoodie, while a few (h/l) (h/c) strands splayed out from where their face pressed to the floor.

Splotches of red decorated the fabric like paint splatter.

"D-Dios Mio!" Antonio gasped, stumbling back from the fallen body.

The person moved to crawl away across the floor, but barely shifted an inch before they collapsed again.

"W-We can't just leave them here? Right guyz?" Francis gulped, feeling the lump in his throat throb with guilt. This helpless guy had been hurt, and here they'd been,_tormenting_him like idiots.

Gilbert seemed welded to his spot, and it took Antonio grasping him by his shoulders with a couple of violent shakes to snap him out of his dazed spell.

"Gilberto! We need to get this boy to the nurses station! Now!"

The albino whipped his head back and forth to shake of his frozen state and dropped to the being's side. "Francis! Get zat side!" He barked out, lifting the left arm of the groaning person over his neck.

Francis did the same on the other side, and their head lolled foward, continuing to shield their face.

From under the hoodie, each male could see a few drops of crimson fall to the tiled floor.

"Scheiße!"

**-TIME/PLACE SKIP BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE BTT! (Them: Sexy and we know it~!)-**

The nurses station was cold, and filled with white from one wall to the next.

Gilbert paced back and forth in the waiting room, wringing his hands together, while Francis was collapsed in one of the chairs, his head in his hands, and Antonio just...stood.

For the umpteenth time did the Spaniard shoot a glance at the clock.

Ten minutes had passed, and third period was nearly over. The receptionist at the front desk of the office had called each of the trio's homerooms to explain the situation, explaining their reason for being absent from class.

It had already seemed like eternity, and it seemed like a whole other eternity before the head nurse finally appeared at the doorway, pulling her blood-stained rubber gloves from her hands. Her hawk-like stare ran from each boy to the next, before it finally swiveled back to Gilbert.

"She's going to be fine. It's a good thing you got her here in time though, or she might've-"

"Wait! _Girl?_ Vhat do you mean by, _girl_?" Gilbert interrupted.

The nurse leaned over the desk and stared at the clipboard the receptionist pushed towards her. "_ _. A senior. Age _, homeroom...Mr. Grayson. Any of you know her?"

All three nodded their heads.

They knew her alright.

**-TIME/PLACE SKIP BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE BTT!-**

_"Freshman year…" Antonio smiled, leaning his head back to stretch out under the sun. "Can you believe it?"_

It was the trio's first year of Gakuen Hetalia, and despite each of their aloof posteriors, all of them felt a shred of anxiety in one way or another.

Even Francis, who was busy checking out the passing females with a watchful eye.

"Oui."

It had seemed that since the new year had started, the girls found it fit to travel in packs. This was perfectly fine for Francis, but it did up the attempts to took to talk with them one-on-one, and that was the French-boy's specialty.

Only one girl strayed away from groups.

She sat on the edge of one of the outside picnic tables, a few feet away from the trio, and ate her lunch in solitude.

_Her (h/l) (h/c) hair swept back and forth with the passing breeze, and she wore a (insert outfit of your choice here). She looked like any normal girl, sitting alone, and minding her own business._

_She was the perfect target._

France grinned and tugged at his shirt-collar, shooting his two friends a "Well, well, well~", look. He stood up from his seat on the hard metal bench and strolled over to where the unfamiliar girl perched, smiling his most gentleman-like smile.

"Bonjour, mademoiselle! Is this seat taken?" He gestured to the open rounding seat next to her.

She paused in taking a bite of her sandwich and looked up to him. The bandage that wrapped over her right eye nearly threw Francis from his loop, but he bounced right back when she solemnly nodded.

"Ah~! Many thanks, ma cherie!" Francis sighed, plopping himself down very, very, close to her. So close that when he relaxed his arm across the tabletop, it fell gracefully across her shoulders.

There was a moment of silence as they sat there, the only noise being made the sound of the girl chewing. Francis glanced over to his companions, who were shooting him, "Go for it!", expressions. In response he waggled his eyebrows and turned back to her, tilting her chin up so that his crystal blue eyes bore down into her (e/c) ones.

'Her eyes...are so cold looking...', his mind remarked as a shiver ran down his spine.

"I am Francis Bonnefoy, madam."

With a gentle tug, she pulled away from him and turned back to the paper bag that sat next to her.

"I'm _…"

'Score!' Francis cheered in his mind. He took a moment to close his eyes and congratulate himself, but nearly toppled from his spot when he opened them back up and saw a round object shoved in his face.

_It took him a minute to realize it was a cookie._

"I saw you didn't eat anything for lunch." She stated as calmly as possible.

_Slightly dumbstruck, he accepted the sweet and it did nothing to help him when a tiny smile flitted across her own face.  
_  
**-TIME SKIP BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE BTT! -**

They had never been close with her, and Francis's attempts at flirting had always been blocked at every turn. But now and then, she had come up to them at lunch over the years to present them with assortments of sweets snd candies. However, her appearences were always brief, and she was always gone before they could ever thank, much less _speak_, to her.

Bile rose up in the back of the Prussian's throat as the memory of the state they'd found her in flashed through his mind.

"And where what she at when you found her?"

"A...a locker." Francis muttered, not moving his head.

"She was leaning against the locker?"

"No, no..." Antonio corrected, his usually peppy expression the most downcast either of his friends had ever seen it. "_In_ the locker..._ella estaba en el armario_..."

"In the locker...", the nurse scratched something into the paper, and a shadowed figure appeared at the doorway.

It was "_". Her face was etched with scars and bruises, and one of her eyes was swollen shut, the same dark violet color as a plum. Upon seeing the three men she ducked her head and moved back behind the threshold, leaving only half of her face showing.

Her (favorite design) hoodie had been replaced with a fresh (f/c) T-shirt, and her (h/c) (h/l) drooped over her forehead and down her cheeks limply.

"C'mon, now. You can't stay in here forever." The nurse deadpanned, waving her foward.

_ took a few shaky steps foward, and kept her gaze to the floor.

Each of them noted the glazed over look to her open eye, giving it's (e/c) shimmer a sense of weakness.

"Hey, frau." Gilbert stated, trying his best to hold his normally confident tone.

She didn't turn to look at him, slightly twitching her head in his direction.

"I'm the Awe-I'm Gilbert." He nervously stuck out his hand to shake, but she just stared.

"I'm Antonio." His Spanish friend chimed in, plastering a fake smile against his features.

"I-am Francis...", their resident Frenchman whispered last, his voice hardly audible.

_ regarded them all with a sharp twitch and slowly, but surely, extended her own hand, wrapped in blood soaked bandages.

"..._."

"We know." He smiled, tipping his head to one side.

"Nice to finally meet you."


	3. The nurse

Heyyy readers!~ I've decided to continue on with this story c; And finally managed to finish writing up the next part to this on my birthday!~

Haha!~ So enjoy everyone, and please leave feedback on what I can do better, as well as what you want to read more of, what you think might happen in the future, etc.

I have a pretty long story planned out for you all. :D

Enjoy~

Hetalia (c) Himaruya

You (c) BTT

Plot (c) Me

Previously...

_ You were finally saved when the Bad Touch Trio found you in a locker, beat up and barely conscious. Not knowing what to do, and feeling guilty at their teasing you when you were in so much pain, they took you to the nurses office._

The weather was a bit too sunny for your taste, not matching up with your less than amused disposition. You had checked out early from school today; not willing to face your classmates and not having the willpower to concentrate on classes.

'That was quite the beating...' You thought to yourself as you lightly brought a hand up to touch your blackened eye. The ice the nurse had given you helped bring the swelling down, so hopefully your mother wouldn't notice it; you didn't want to bother thinking up an excuse as to what happened at the moment.

Effort only brought headaches; and it started throbbing more when you tried to remember the order of incidents that had taken place earlier today...

**~Flashback~**

_The nurse had brought you back into the room she had treated you in, after the three boys had introduced themselves to you once more. You avoided the nurses gaze by gaining a sudden interest in your shoes; keeping your eyes on your shoes, you wandered over to the cot you had been lying in and took a seat at the edge; wanting to lie down, but feeling uncomfortable doing so when it was obvious that the nurse wanted to ask you a few questions. _

_"Sorry," Your eyes snapped up at the voice of Antonio murmuring an apology for the millionth time in the past few minutes. You hadn't realized that the trio had followed you into the room; you had been hoping that it would just be a conversation between the nurse and you; without having the pressure of peers being in the same room. Especially these peers, specifically. _

_You didn't bother replying, didn't bother telling him that he was fine. Their constant apologizing was starting to get a bit tiring; couldn't they see it wasn't their fault at all? They hadn't done anything; really, they didn't need to feel as guilty as to apologize every time a silence came up. And around you, silences came often. Their guilt was starting to get to you-_

_"What happened?" The voice of the nurse tore you away from your thoughts. She was sitting in a small black chair that seemed to have once belonged to a student's desk; holding a pad and paper to take notes on whatever she would ask you. _

_Jumping slightly you replied, "I-I'm not sure really. I can't remember." You mumbled the last part in a whisper; your gaze wandering around the room. Landing on the sad faces of the boys, you quickly looked away and made a mental note to keep your eyes on the ground. _

_The nurse eyed you warily, clearly not trusting your claim of not remembering what had happened. It wasn't surprising; many people would make up lies about who tormented them, so as to save themselves from future beatings. The nurse gave a sigh as she gently set a warm hand on your shoulder, causing you to look up into her face, full of concern about your well-being. With all the times you had visited the nurse, she was starting to get sick of your obvious lying each time. Not this time though, she wasn't going to let you get away with an 'I'm okay, really!' this time. _

_"_, don't lie to me this time. I know that you may have not been completely honest with me those other times, but I want this all to stop. You can't let others hurt you like this." Her eyes bore into yours with pure concern._

_You resisted the urge to flinch away due to what she said. 'She knew?' you thought to yourself. _

_You had always seen yourself as a pretty decent liar, when the situation called for. Yes, there had been a few times when someone may have seen a bad bruise you acquired from home, or when you got bullied from the other children at school; and, yes, when the nurse had asked for an explanation, but you had lied so as to not bring more trouble and worry to yourself and others around you. _

_But you weren't lying this time. _

_"I'm not lying!" you suddenly cried out, eyebrows creasing in worry. "Honestly, everything is hazy from when I was pulled out of the locker!" _

_There was a sudden silence in the room as everyone processed what you had just said. _

_"You can't remember?" A voice other than the nurses asked, the voice laced with a hint of suspicion. You looked past the nurse to the source of the voice; at Antonio. _

_"I truly can't..." You replied with a whisper. _

_The nurse sighed lightly and politely asked, "Try please. Try remembering anything, I can't allow for this to happen again. We have to stop whoever does this, dear." _

_You sighed back and closed your eyes gently, racking your brain for the memories that seemed to have slipped from your mind. Flashes of the punches and blows to your body when the assailants had attacked you earlier; but for some reason, their faces, their voices... you couldn't quite pinpoint them. _

_A flash of red. _

_Nails... on a bat?_

_Glasses... no... sunglasses._

_But the exact faces of your assaulters... you just couldn't remember who exactly had shoved you into the locker in your bruised state. _

_Looking up to face the nurse you said, "The only thing I can remember are small flashes of things, but I can't exactly remember what happened... all I can seem to remember was walking down the hallway and stumbling upon a group of people... I think..." you weren't quite sure about which of your memories were correct, and which ones you might be making up at the moment. A small frown tugged at your lips, "And the next thing I know, I was found in the locker..." You looked briefly at the trio, "And here I am now." You tried to grin lightly but the smile faded away. You weren't really in the mood of putting on a fake smile for this audience today._

_The nurse brushed her hair back with the hand that held the pen while she slowly let a puff of air out. She could tell that you weren't lying, that wasn't what was bothering her. The fact that you couldn't remember anything was what was bothering her. What was wrong? A small account of amnesia?_

_"You might have gotten hit a bit hard on your head then, darling." She said quietly, "May have caused you to have forgot about what happened exactly. Just go home and get some well needed rest." She jotted something down on a piece of paper and handed it to you, "Give this to your mom; if you can't remember what happened, then you might need to see a doctor."_

Your eyes skimmed over the paper, reading that it was just a quick note saying that "_ was hit on the head; she may be suffering from brain injuries, so she should see the doctor soon. Just in case." 

_"Thank you" You stiffly replied, standing up and walking to the exit as quickly as possible. You didn't want to stay in there if you didn't have to; too many people there with too many questions to ask you. _

_You thought you heard one of the trio say something, but you were out of there too hastily to have picked up what they had said. _

_When you felt you were a safe distance away from the office, you slowed down to a halt. Eyes shifting to the note again, you rolled your eyes. It's not like your mom was going to care about what it said anyways, she never did. The most she'd do was give you a pain killer; but that wasn't going to help. If you had brain damage, that couldn't exactly be healed with some aspirin. _

_Crumpling the note into a small ball, you threw it over your shoulder as you walked out of the school. _

~End of Flashback~

And that was it. Afterwards, you had started to walk back home, because you decided that it would be better than facing your classmates back at school in your condition. You blinked at the sudden onslaught of memories from earlier.

Who hurt you like this? You could only wish you could remember who stuffed you in that confined space of a locker; surely you would get claustrophobia now from the time spent in there.

Your mind wandered to the three that had ended up being your savior. Wasn't it just ironic, that of all people, it had to be them? Surely, if it had been someone else they would have just left you there; but no, it just had to be the few people who could actually help that had found and saved you.

You raised your hand to settle against your heart, it has started fluttering at the thought of them, and you weren't naïve. Did you... like them?

No. No that just couldn't be possible. You should your head, trying to get that thought out of your head. There was no way they would return your feelings back; even as friends. A small smile flashed across your lips at the thought of having a friend.

It was a nice thought. Have one friend, nevertheless three, attractive, male friends. You chuckled; but it would never happen. And even if it could happen, you wouldn't let it happen. There were too many possibilities of the friendship ending in disaster.

If they found out... about you, about your depression, about your nonexistent wretched 'family' at home; they'd just leave you alone again. You just knew that would happen.

You didn't want to get hurt again. Didn't want to build up a friendship just for it to break back down.

But oddly enough, that wasn't exactly what worried you the most. It was the idea of hurting them. They had a happy life, with friends, family, love, and happiness. If they got to know you, that would all change for them. And when you could bear the pain happening to you, the thought of hurting them sent your stomach for a spin. You wouldn't let it happen. You couldn't let them get to know you.

You just had to keep pushing them away, it was the best for everyone.

Finally noticing that you had reached your house, and had just been standing outside it, you decided to finally head inside. 'The office probably called my mother to tell her that I was heading home for the day.' You frowned, it would have been nice if you could have 'sluffed' home too, but your mother didn't like the idea of you being around others too long.

You walked down the stairs to your apartment; located in the basement area of the complex. The outside of it looked so clean and cheerful, acting as a cover of what happened inside.

Your hand settled on the doorknob, deciding to settle the small argument going on in your head concerning the trio.

Your mind wandered to how happy they were with one another, about how you'd just be a crack in their otherwise perfect lives, and you thought, 'They would be better off without me.'

With that decision in mind, you turned the doorknob and entered your house.


	4. Projects

_**Previously,**_

**_The reader had a flashback of her time with the nurse, realizing that she couldn't remember who had shoved her in the locker earlier, and going back home without a word._**

Francis ran a comb through his hair as he spoke to Gilbert and Antonio, who were also busy getting ready for school today. The other day, they had decided upon sleeping over at Antonio's house, since out of the three of them, it was the house that had the least amount of people coming through; and they didn't want to have to deal with others at the moment, they needed some time to talk over the incident that had occurred.

"Who knew zhat things like that happened at our awesome school?" Prussia pouted, it had never really occurred to the trio that there were people bullied on a daily basis at their school, and sure they knew it happened, but it was a whole different situation actually seeing the outcomes of it firsthand.

They were pretty popular and well known at the school, so no one bothered them, at least not in that way, since they knew how to fend for themselves for the most part in a fist fight; it's not like they were a bunch of wimps.

But the thought of people beating up a girl who couldn't really defend herself bothered them. A lot.

"I hope zhat she is alright, my beautiful hair cannot handle any more of zhis stress!" He stared at the mirror disapprovingly as he flipped a lock of hair over his shoulder dramatically, "Just look at it! It's frizzing with all of zhe running thoughts in my head!"

Prussia pushed him away as he took his turn at the mirror, giving his clothes a look over as he made sure that nothing was wrong with the outfit. "Maybe we're just overreacting about all zhis, right? I mean, yay we saved her, but the frau is probably fine on her own, she's pretty strong..."

Antonio huffed and lied back onto his bed. "We found the bella in a locker, Gilbert. A locker." He murmured solemnly, sounding more like he was talking to himself rather than his two friends. "That's not normal. Even if we aren't her friends, the least we can do is check up on her. It's the right thing to do."

Francis sat next to his friend on the bed, "Oui, it'll make me feel much better if we at least make sure zhat she's alright. Then we can leave 'er be, she probably doesn't need us three bothering 'er more than we already are..."

Prussia nodded; so they had finally reached a conclusion of what they were going to do. They didn't really know her, other than that short meeting from so long ago, so they didn't want to creep her out any more than what they probably already did. Sure, they worried about her; I mean, it's not every day you find someone beaten until unconsciousness in a locker, anyone would want to make sure that the person was okay. But they decided to leave it at that. "We'll just see how she's doing this morning, und leave her alone after zhat..." Prussia said.

You had managed to avoid your mother this morning, which wasn't very hard, considering that she was still asleep at the time you woke up. You had slipped easily out of the house undetected, and were almost at the school now.

Stretching your sore limbs, you turned the corner to your school, ready to get another day over with. Your eyes planted to the ground, you walked as slow as you possibly could; getting to class early could give other students chances to hurt you, or at least, that's what your mind kept telling you, and you didn't want to bother testing if that was true or not. Might as well stay out of as much trouble as possible for now –

Your thoughts stopped as you accidentally ran into someone. Murmuring a 'sorry', you moved to the side to continue walking, but the person moved along with you, blocking your path.

You curiously looked up, your eyes meeting with a pair covered in sunglasses, "Nice seeing you again." He smirked.

You gave him a confused look, you hadn't met this person in your life. Maybe you had just forgotten them? You stepped back and cocked your head to the side in confusion.

The boy stared back, his confident smirk fading into a scowl, "What is it?" He grumbled. This wasn't the reaction he had expected, he had been hoping for more of a reaction. Like a scared face accompanied with pleads of 'Don't hurt me again!' or 'Ahhhhh!' or something else he'd find equally as weak; something he'd expect from one of his victims. But this was different. This person seemed... confused?

"Um. Have we met before? I-I'm so sorry, I can't remember you..." You said all of this quickly and avoiding his gaze, your soft voice full of shame of not remembering who this stranger was; you didn't want to offend anyone just because of your memory failing you!

'Cant remember me?' He thought, he squinted his eyes and leaned his face closer to the girl, staring her right in the eye, he saw her flinch while he said, "You can't remember me?"

You shook you head side to side quickly, "I'm so sorry, I usually remember people's faces easily!" You remembered that the nurse had mentioned that you had hit your head a bit hard, what if you had forgotten more than just what had happened during that fight? What if you had forgotten others faces and names too? "I got hit in the head yesterday, and I guess that I can't remember as much as I thought I did!"

You were startled as the boy stood straight up and started chuckling, his chuckles turning into a loud laughter.

'How long has it been since I've laughed this much?' he thought to himself, as the chuckles came uncontrollably. This was rich. This. Was. Soooo rich. What were the chances that she wouldn't remember who beat her up? He had come over to her when he saw her so that he could roughen her up a bit, play around, and tell her that if she told anyone that he beat her up, that he'd make sure she'd regret it.

But it didn't seem like there would be a need to do so anymore. He stopped his laughing and grinned, it seemed like things were turning out alright for once in his not so perfect life. He gave one last hearty chuckle, ignoring the very confused stare you were giving him, and ruffled some of your hair, "Don't worry about it, hun, I'm just an acquaintance of yours. I believe we met only for a few minutes, anyways, so it's no problem if ya don't remember me. Hell, I don't think I even remember yours... what is it again, doll face?"

You weren't used to the unusual pet names he was using on you, and you didn't really understand why anyone would bother holding a conversation with you, and the fact that he touched you... heck, it took a while for you to process everything at the moment, it was a bit of an overload.

You snapped back to reality and realized that he was waiting for a reply, ignoring his amused smirk, you said, "Uhm... I-I'm _..."

"Oh! _! I think I remember now!" He said, though you didn't notice the sarcasm lacing his words, "Pleased to meet ya, I'm Alfred, though I go by Al." His eyes darkened for a moment as he growled out, "DO NOT even think about calling me Alfred." But he composed himself so quickly, that you started to doubt if that moment of darkness had even occurred. Al cursed in his mind, he hadn't meant to lose his composure for that moment, but _that _name really bugged him; his full name.

Yeah, he was a bully, and sure, he was a threat and a problem to others, but people knew him as that not only because of his ability to handle a weapon, but by his ability to manipulate others to his needs. That was what he was trying to do now, it was best that he didn't trigger something in the girl to remember what he had done to her, he was already in a ton of trouble with the authorities and the school, and one more thing would certainly set them off. He had to lie low for the time being, and if acting composed in front of this girl would assure that, then that's what he would do.

You nodded silently before starting to shuffle off again, "It was nice to meet you Al..." You mumbled, still feeling uncomfortable in this situation you were placed in.

Noticing your discomfort and relishing in it, Al grinned dangerously before moving out of your way and leaving, "Later."

You had barely walked up to the schools entrance when you noticed more footsteps heading your way. You let out a light sigh as you raised your head, what was wrong with people today, it's like they suddenly decided to notice you, and even though that was a dream of yours, it was kind of putting you off, especially after the things that had occurred the other day.

"Hallo again frau!" you heard Gilberts cheery voice ring through the air as you had looked up to see that the trio was standing before you.

Deciding that this day had enough talking as it is, you just nodded politely and tried to get to class.

Francis frowned lightly, looking over to his friends before he reached over to you and stopped you be grabbing your shoulder and turning you around to face them again. "Mademoiselle, we simply wanted to make sure zhat you were doing okay today..."

"Yeah, bella, you gave us quite a scare the other day!" Antonio piped in, rubbing at the back of his neck anxiously, even though a usual smile was on his face.

You didn't want to worry them anymore than what they already felt, especially since you didn't want them to start prying around, since you felt that it would eventually lead them to your situation at home and your depression, so you tried to place a smile on your face and said, "Of course, it was just a minor scrape after all," You ignored their frowns as you raised a hand to your beaten eye. Even though it was a bit blue, it wasn't nearly as swollen as it had been the other day, "I'll be fine, don't worry about me!" You tried to sound as cheerful and confident as Antonio did, and it seemed to convince them enough.

The trio looked hesitant, but could tell that you didn't want their attention. "At least let us walk you to class, okay?" Prussia asked in a tone that made it feel more like he was ordering you to go with them instead of you having a choice in the matter.

You frowned and were about to decline, it was enough being saved by them, nevertheless having the eyes of everyone on you as you walked with them, they were well known and you didn't know if you could handle the stares of others-

"Pleaseeeee," Antonio begged, putting on his best puppy face on. He could see what Prussia was trying to do, that walking her to class would be their last deed to her for the time being before they would back off and leave her alone again.

You sighed compliantly and slowly shook your head to say no, but when the bell rang, indicating that there were only a few minutes left to get to class, you changed your mind. "Fine, fine, I'll go with you guys..."

You all had history as your first class, so it wasn't a problem for them to walk with you...

But the attention you'd get...

You tried your best not to think about it for now, after all, it was just a walk to class, it's not like you were standing on a stage or something...

The trio squealed in happiness, expecting you to have rejected them. You all started to hurry to your class, with you escorted by three of some of the most well-known boys in the school.

That's when the attention and whispering began. When they finally noticed you.

It would start with the student waving at one of the members of the trio, until they noticed you. Then they would just stare at you in awe, not understanding your presence.

"What's 'she' doing with 'them'?"

"No way they'd hang out with 'her'!"

You tried to block out the whispering from surrounding students, like what the boys were doing as the pushed and joked with one another, but it was difficult for you.

"Hah, I bet they're just using her."  
"Yeah, why else would 'that' trio have her with them."

"Definitely, that's really the only reason they'd have her with them-"

You blinked tears away as the already forming rumors got worse and worse. People were thinking that you were some sort of... slut? A whore? You didn't care anymore. All you knew was that this was the last time you tried doing something so bold, something such as being around the three.

You had to make as much distance from them as possible, just like before.

A waved in front of your face before you noticed that you had stopped walking since you had reached the class. Waving his hand a few more times for good measure, Antonio said, "Are you okay? You kinda zoned out for a while there..."

You put on a fake grin and nodded, not having the strength to say anything. You quickly entered the class and rushed over to your seat. Prussia started walking towards your seat again, the other two following behind, not liking that you had just brushed them off, but when the bell rang and the teacher told everyone to get to their seats, they decided to just give up and go back to their seats. The trio weren't used to chasing after girls, they were used to them coming to them, and chasing after you was getting tiring to them. If you didn't want them, then they weren't going to bother anymore.

It was clear that you were not interested.

You had managed to zone out through the class again, history was usually interesting to you, but you had other things to think about at the moment.

You heard the class groan, so you decided to tune into what the teacher was saying again.

"Yes, yes, I know that projects aren't fun if you can't choose your partners... but I believe that it's for the best... especially since we're going to be in groups of four..." His eyes shot to the trio. You could tell that he was doing this for their sake, see, they were always paired up, picking partners or not, they surprisingly did best when they were paired together. And considering that this was supposed to be four partnered... that left a bunch of jealous girls that would be fighting to get a spot as the last member of their group.

That was why the teacher had decided to choose partners for them, so that there wouldn't be as much arguing as if he let them choose themselves.

You shrugged and zoned out again. It didn't really concern you, if girls wanted to pay close attention to see if they were the 'lucky' girl to get paired up with the trio, they could. You would just ask the teacher who was in your group again before you left class.

You were fiddling with a piece of your hair when the class gasped in what sounded like disappointment, so you assumed that the teacher had partnered up the trio now.

... just in time for the bell indicating the end of class to ring.

Everyone dispersed, moans and groans sounding as you walked up to the teacher to ask him about who you had been partnered up with for this group project.

He pushed a pair of glasses up disapprovingly, not liking that you hadn't been paying attention in class, "I'm surprised that you don't know who your partners are..."

Your face twisted into confusion, "What do you mean by that?"

You hoped that he wasn't going to give you a lecture on how you should pay more attention in your classes.

"Well... you're partnered up with Gilbert, Francis, and Antonio..."


	5. Get together

_**Previously, after having a meet-up with 2P!Alfred, he finds out that you don't have any memories of when he attacked you, you went off to your first period class, history, with the BTT escorting you, then silently vowing to leave you be after that. Not paying attention in class, you finally zapped back into consciousness when the teacher started assigning what the groups for the end of the year history project would be. Unfortunately, to your utter disappointment, it turns out to be three of the people you would have least want to partner up with. The bad touch trio.**_

A/n: I didn't mention earlier that the history project is a big 'End of the Year' thing; so the time right now, is just a few weeks before the end of the school year. It'll make the rest of the story makes sense so... XD Gosh, I need to plan out future stories a bit better than what I'm doing right now, so sorry!

You had a double-take when the teacher informed you that you were partnered up with the three that you had been planning to avoid. You still hadn't processed the fact of who your end-of-the-year project partners were, and it was almost lunch time.

Your eye twitched out of irritation as you turned towards the slowly ticking hands of the clock, that maybe if you glared at it long enough, time would pass more rapidly.

Having managed to avoid the trio for the past classes, you weren't the most excited for lunch.

'I'm going to have to eventually approach them...' you thought to yourself. You were a bit certain that they weren't going to remember the project if you didn't go up to remind them, they seemed like the type to procrastinate a huge project for the day before it's due.

You grumbled to yourself at the thought of having to approach them. Usually, you would have just tried to avoid them if it was a smaller project, since you could still pass the class if you screwed up an assignment or two, but this was the biggest assignment of the year, and if you didn't turn this in, then you weren't likely to acquire a passing grade... and if you didn't pass the class... well, let's just say that your mom doesn't enjoy the idea of you going to summer school.

To your mom, summer is for jobs and bringing home some extra money, not for wasting it in pointless summer classes.

'BRINGGGG'

The sound of the bell made your heart stop for a second. You gathered your things and shoved them messily into your backpack as you thought of what you were going to have to do.

Lunch was next, so you were going to have to speak to them. You were the one who was going to have to initiate the conversation. Your hand ran thought your hair tiredly as you huffed tiredly.

Noting that the room was nearly emptied, you scurried off to the lunch room. For once, your eyes weren't lowered to the ground, but instead turned up to the faces of others, darting through them, trying to identify the face of at least one of the three boys.

You were starting to get anxious. It was a while since you had stepped foot in the cafeteria, considering that you never had money to buy lunch, and it wasn't like there were others for you to sit with anyways.

Avoiding people like the plague, you tried to dodge them as everyone scurried about, but it wasn't really working.

"Wow, this place is more crowded that I thought..." You murmured to yourself nervously. All you wanted was to find them and get this over with. Giving one last look about the cafeteria, trying to calm your racing heart, you shrugged and decided to give up.

"Well, I did my best!" You said, trying to convince yourself of your excuse. Laughing nervously as an attempt to calm your nerves, you started fast-walking towards the double doors that led out of the cafeteria and towards the back of the school.

You finally calmed down a bit as you pushed through the doors, "I'm never going in there again." You turned to glare back at the lunch room with a triumphant smile, glad that you were able to get out of there before having some type of panic attack. Your delighted smile slowly pulled down into a frown. You hadn't really searched for the trio long enough, and you had really wanted to find them today to get the project over as soon as possible!

A sudden realization came to mind, as you noted that today was a Friday, which meant that the bar was open longer hours... which meant that your mom was probably not going to get home until later than usual. Just enough for a certain someone to work on a project with three boys...

"Gahhh, now I really have to find them!" You cried out frustratingly. You grumbled to yourself some more as you as you started wandering around out back, kicking at the ground. "Never going to find them at this pace... What's wrong with me I can't even do something as simple as AHHH-!" You screamed out in surprise as you ran into someone (again. What was with you and running into others?).

"Sorry, so sorry, I didn't mean to, I wasn't watching where I was going and..." You trailed off as you looked up into a pair of red eyes. Your breathing calmed and your worried face stretched into a smile.

"Hey amigo," Antonio called out to Gilbert as he ran towards him, "What is it?" Francis, who had also noticed Gilbert's abrupt stop, ran with Antonio towards the guy.

Gilbert was blocking you from their view, so he turned to stand next to you as he put a hand your shoulder, laughing, "Kesesese, I've found her guys! I told you my awesome self could find anyone!"

You looked up to Gilbert as Antonio and Francis reached you guys, "I was looking for you all!" You said excitingly. Ignoring their confused glances at one another you continued, "The project, we're all partners, and I was wondering if we could finish it sooner than later. I'm not a big fan of procrastination (Yes, maybe you were lying, but it wasn't like they needed to know that) so I was wondering if we could start working on it today after school?" You brought your hands together in a pleading way.

"Awhh, of course we can do zhat, ma chérie!" Francis said, seeing how you had a puppy face on now. There was only a week until the project was due, and it was due on the next Friday you'd have available to get together again... So today was your last chance.

"Yes, thank you!" You breathed out a sigh of relief. 'Well, that wasn't too bad, glad that that's over.' You turned to start walking away, "Kay, thanks guys, see you later-"

You felt someone grab your arm as you turned around to face Antonio, "Wait a second chica, we don't know who we're meeting at."

"Or at what time." Gilbert piped in.

You mentally face palmed at your mistake, "U-Uhm, of course, sorry. So..." You squirmed where you were standing, still bothered by your mistake as you waited for them to decide.

The trios were quiet for a second as they thought, "How about we meet at my house?" Francis offered, "I think my roommate said something about hanging out with Alfred today."

Your mind had stopped a bit at the mentioning of having a roommate. That would most certainly be nice for you to have, to be able to move out... unfortunately, your mom insists on you staying home with her, but the moment you turned eighteen, there was nothing to stop you from moving out.

"Wait, Alfred? As in, Alfred with sunglasses and bat Alfred?" You asked, as you remembered 'making friends' with the guy outside of school earlier.

The three guys looked at you as if you had a third head, "Who?"

"You know... red eyes, has this one jacket, wears sunglasses..." You didn't really know how else to explain the guy, you had met him only once really, so you were proud that you were able to even remember his name.

Prussia's eyes widened a bit in shock, "You mean Al?" You watched as the other two caught on to who you were trying to describe, "No no no, not that guy at all. Alfred and Al are complete opposites, actually."

Antonio laughed, "Don't you worry, and that's not the guy at all."

You weren't sure why you would be worried anyways, but you paid that no mind as you nodded, "Oh sorry, my bad."

'Not another mistake!' you thought to yourself, at this rate, maybe speaking only if you had to would be best.

After a moment of awkward silence, Francis asked, "Well, do you need a ride or something _? You don't know where I live, and I have a car I can use..."

You quickly shook your head in the universal indication of 'no'. (Or in your case, 'Aw hell no!') There was no way you were going to bring anywhere near your apartment. "No no, I-I'm alright, just give me your address or something, and I'll find my way!"

"Seriously, it's okay!" You said as they tried to protest. The look that Francis was giving you was starting to freak you out a bit. It wasn't normal for the guy to look so... calculating. It was like he was analyzing you right now.

The first bell rang, indicating that lunch was over, and that everyone should start getting to class. He sighed as he seemed to get nowhere and pulled a pen and sticky note out of his backpack.

"Whoa!" Prussia yelped as Francis bent him over to use his back to write on, "Calm down there Francis."

Antonio chuckled at the two.

'Oh, how great it must be to have friends like that...' you smiled lightly as Francis handed over the piece of paper.

"How does seven o'clock sound?" Francis asked. Antonio and Gilbert nodded their heads.

"Ja, that works for me," Gilbert noted.

"Me too!" Antonio agreed.

Seven seemed a bit late for you, but the other guys seemed fine with it, so you nodded slowly, "Sure, that's alright I guess. I'll be there."

And with that, you all went your separate ways, heading for your classes.

**_And later, after school..._**

It was currently 6:50 as you kicked at the ground, willing your scooter to move forward faster. 'I'm going to be late!' you said, worried that you'd make a fool of yourself again.

The moment your mom had left the house, saying that she would be extra late today, you had pulled on a pair of jeans, t-shirt, and a slightly large jacket, grabbed your scooter and the address, and ran out the door.

But now, you only had ten minutes to find Francis's house. 'Darn, why did my mom have to take so long!'

'And then I turn here...' You thought to yourself as you turned the corner. Lines of large houses suddenly lined both sides of the street, and you couldn't help but look in awe at them all. What would it be like to actually live in something like that?

It was getting darker outside and your legs were getting tired. You really needed to take a break, you had been pushing yourself to your limits on this scooter for the past few minutes, and it was taking its toll on you now. It didn't matter now anyways, you were going to be late whether you went fast or not.

Looking down at the address again, you noticed that their house should just be around the corner. Slowing down on the scooter, you hopped off and started walking, calming your breath down by slowing inhaling and exhaling so that you wouldn't be huffing and puffing when you rang the doorbell.

You turned around the corner and counted the numbers on the houses, finally reaching the correct one.

'Wait... this can't be right...' you mumbled. You looked at the address and back to the house number, 'No way. No way this could be the one...'

But as much as you wanted to deny it, this was still the house number, and you doubted Francis would give you the wrong house number.

But if this was the correct place, then why was there a party going on inside?

**_AND OH MY GOD PLEASE GIVE ME IDEAS FOR WHAT SHOULD HAPPEN AT THE PARTYYYY_**

**CAUSE GOD, I DON'T KNOW!**

Soooo sorry for such a late update. xP

In return, I'll update it again later today!~  
So yay, double update time!

And yay for cliffhangers!


	6. A little too drunk

Previously, _on avatar /shot/ I've really got to stop watching that_you finally worked up the courage to find and ask the BTT about getting together to work on the end-of-the-year project of yours. Deciding to go to Francis's house to start working, he gave you his address and you scooter-ed over there. Yet to your surprise, there was a... party inside?

Because a fanfiction is never complete without a drunk England.  
I mean, what?  
**Enjoy!**

'These guys better be high if they think I'm going to party while we have homework to do...' You grumbled to yourself as you stood on the houses front lawn, shuffling your feet uncomfortably. You were still indecisive as to whether you should still go ahead and knock, or just give up and go home now. Heck, you still weren't even sure if this was their house, it could always be the one next door... you turned your head side to side as you studied the other calmer, non-party looking houses, but a quick peak at the open window of his neighbors told you otherwise, there were two tanned boys in the kitchen... making pasta it seems, with the darker haired one seemingly screaming at the other guy about something.

Yeah, definitely not Francis. Maybe the guys had no intention of working with you, and gave you this address instead?

You most certainly hoped not. It wasn't often that you trusted others, so you hoped that this wouldn't just be another reason to be paranoid of the things people told you.

You eyed the door again and fiddled with your hair, 'I mean... It's just a little end of year project which my whole grade balances on...' you thought to yourself, 'Awh, who am I kidding, if I don't get a decent grade on this, I'm screwed!'

Determined to at least ring the doorbell and decide on what to do later, you rushed up to the porch before your sudden burst of courage disappeared. You're finger froze over the doorbell, 'But what if-,' a negative thought in your head tried to push its way through, but with a 'No!' you quickly rang the doorbell.

The dubstep you could hear playing in the inside of the house didn't falter, but you thought you could hear some footsteps heading towards the door. More nervous than ever, you took calming breaths like you usually do to calm yourself down, and it worked. You didn't end up bolting towards home like you thought you were going to!

Your face might have looked calmer now, but your knuckles that were turning white from clutching your folded-over scooter so tightly betrayed any idea of calmness.

The door suddenly swung open and the flashing lights from the inside blinded you for a second. You couldn't see who was speaking, but you could still hear them over the music.

"Heyyyyy, what brings someone like youuuuu hereeeee, loveeee?" The voice slurred and you could tell that this guy was definitely drunk.

You wiped at your eyes as you started to ask him if Francis lived here, but were cut short at the sight of who exactly you were talking to.

It wasn't the bushy eyebrows or the striking green eyes that surprised you, but what the guy was wearing... I mean, it wasn't every day that you spoke with a shirtless guy who seemed to only be wearing boxers and an apron. 'Er, at least, I hope he's wearing boxers...' you thought to yourself.

You felt yourself blush as you stuttered, "U-Uhm, I mean, I'm... looking... Fra-"

Even though this guy was drunk he still managed to catch onto your blushing, and smirked at you, "What's the matter, love, see something you like?"

His arrogance distracted you enough to get a proper question out of your mouth, though the blushing didn't cease, "Um well, Francis. Yeah, I'm looking for Francis, is he here?"

The expression on this guy's face changed so swiftly into such a displeased expression, you got a bit frightened.

"Ohhh, so you're here for the frog face then? Well what makes you think that he's better than me, I'm much better than him in so many ways he could never amount to me! Why would you be looking for-for that FAT, self-centered, good for nothing croissant, he's never here anyways, and he should be here instead of there, but he's everywhere and not here when he shouldn't be thereeeeee, I mean what is wrong with that frog, GOD I DON'T KNOW!"

Your face just looked more and more confused the more you listened to this guy, but the way he reacted told you that this probably was Francis's house. Maybe, maybe this was his room- er- house mate he was speaking of earlier?

Interrupting his odd rant you asked, "Um, wait, what-what's your name?"

He snapped out of whatever tangent he was going on and said, "ME? I'M ARTHUR BLOODY KIRKLAND AND I CAN HOLD MY ALCOHOL BETTER THAN A FROG EATING TEA AND SCONES ANYDAYYYYYY" He beat a palm against his chest to emphasize his words, his face flushed from the effects of whatever he had been drinking.

Oh! Arthur sounded like a familiar name, you were pretty sure that Francis had mentioned him as his roommate. Paying no heed to the guy, you scooted around him, making sure to avoid touching him as much as possible, and into the house, "UH, YEAH, NICE TALKING WITH YOU ARTHUR!" You called back to him as you began your search for the trio; you figured that the other must already be here, considering how they were such great friends with one another.

Pushing the depressing thought of your lack of friends, you wandered pointlessly around. There were bodies radiating head as they danced around you, or pushed past you, or, if they were drunk, stumbled past you. Luckily, you didn't find anyone as bad off as that Arthur guy, and you certainly hoped that you wouldn't.

You bumped into yet another person as you gave them an apology, and tried to continue your search for the boys, but your arm was yanked back. You turned as you were semi-circled by the girls you had just bumped into. They seemed to be the 'populars' of the school, which didn't surprise you since this seemed like a pretty "high class" party, for teenagers at least.

The one in the middle scoffed as she pointed at you, "What's a girl like you doing here? There's, like, no way you'd be invited over here for a party like this." She sneered, her posse of girls giggling stupidly along as if a hilarious inside joke was told. And for all you knew, there could have been an inside joke told by her, that only her group would understand.

You shrugged uncaringly, not having the time or care to hear what they thought, "Look, I don't have the time for this," You brushed them away and turned around to continue your pursuit.

You felt someone grab your shoulder this time and turn you around violently. The main girl got up close to your face and leered at you as you felt the other girls circle around, "Look, loser, you don't belong here. I don't know what you think you're doing, but whatever it is, I don't like it. Now you'd better hightail it out of here before I make you." The grip on your shoulder tightened the more she spoke.

You looked back at her blankly, people were starting to piss you off today. "Of course you don't know what I'm doing here, heck, I'd be surprised if you knew what anyone was ever doing." The stunned look on their faces only encouraged you to go on, "And frankly, you don't scare me in the least, wannabe. It's not like I did anything to bother you in the first place anyways." You started to stand as you chuckled and continued to poke fun at her, "And nice use of vocabulary there. 'Loser?' What person uses that one? I haven't heard that since elementary school!" You laughed at the memories of when people used to call you that, it had been such a long time-

Oof, you fell to the ground again when one of the girls kicked you down. "Well then, don't say I didn't warn you, _loser_; but it looks like we are actually going to have to make you leave." You saw her raise a foot to kick you, and you tried to move out of the way of the soon-to-come blow, but the surrounding girls made it impossible for you to do so. You were stuck. Again.

You closed your eyes tightly as you waited for the inevitable pain to come, when you heard a cry. 'Wait, that's not right,' you thought as you opened your eyes, 'Shouldn't I be the one crying out in agony?'

The sight of a tall guy in an aviator jacket and blond hair, holding on to the hair of the girl that was about to kick you came into view. You were shocked at the sight of someone protecting you, so you didn't move from your spot on the ground.

"That's so not cool dude!" He exclaimed as he let go of her. She stumbled away from him with a pout.

"But Alfie, she's so lame-" She started to whine as 'Alfie' tutted and shook a finger at her.

"No way! She looks like a totally awesome person, and you're being so uncool." He frowned a bit as his twinkling blue eyes seemed to shoot daggers into the group of girls. "Well, it's been nice knowing you ladies, but I advise you all to leave here." They started to argue as he cut them off, definitely scowling this time, "Now. And don't bother coming back. We don't have time for girls who bully others."

He pointed at the direction of the doorway as he grinned again, "Bye bye!"

He laughed haughtily as you two watched them leave, though not without shooting glares back at you two, "Our friendship is over!" One of the girls exclaimed, speaking for the rest of them as they all nodded along.

"Perfect!" He said, as he waved once more. The girl blew a puff of hot air as she led the rest of her posse out of the door, hopefully never to be seen today again.

With a loud laugh, the guy extended his hand for you, and you graciously accepted it as he helped you up. "Sorry about that, I didn't know that there were such rude people at my amazing party!"  
"Your party?" You asked, a bit confused. This was Francis/Arthur's place, right?

"Yeah, I totally hosted this thing, because Arthur was so uptight, and he totally needed to relax!" He laughed again, which you decided was normal for this guy, he seemed like the really cheerful type.

"Well, he's definitely relaxed now..." you murmured with a grin as you remembered your short meeting earlier. "Well, anyways, thanks a bunch for the save there..."

"Alfred." He offered, "The name's Alfred."

"Right. Well, the name's _. Thanks a bunch for helping me out back there, though I'm pretty sure I was doing fine on my own. I could have taken them!" You said with teasing arrogance.

"Haha, no way, they were totally going to beat you up there! Girls can be so vicious sometimes!" He laughed at your playful glare, "And it's nothing really, it's the least a hero like me could do!" After a grin and a short silence he added, "So what brings you here? I mean, anyone's invited, but I doubt that you'd just randomly appear. I haven't really seen you around before."

You sighed as your short time of fun was brought to an end as you remembered what you came here to do, "Oh my god, I was looking for Francis, Gilbert, and Antonio. Have you seen them?"

"Hah! I don't have to have seen them to know where they are, there's only one place those three would be!" He cried out, starting to walk away from you. You followed behind, not wanting to lose him if he knew where they were.

"And where would that be?" You asked.

"The kitchen, of course! Probably at the bar counter drinking and eating cake, I think." He said, as if that was a normal thing.

"Right. Of course." You nodded, "Wait, cake?"

"Yeah, dude, no party's complete without a huge serving of cake!" He led you to a door and said, "Well this is it!"

You thanked him, "Thanks so much Alfred. And it was nice meeting you!"

He shrugged the formality off and said, "It's just because I'm the hero! I always do things like this! And watch out with those three, they may look like they have their minds intact, but they're a bit more dangerous than Arthur when drunk!"

You had opened the door, but paused at what he just said. More dangerous than Arthur? "Uh, on second thought..."

He slapped your butt as you hesitated, and you squealed in surprise, stumbling into the kitchen. The doors closing behind you as you heard his laugh fade away.

'Well, better now than never,' You said as your eyes searched the room for the trio.

_**This was the most entertaining part to write yet, mah goodness**_

Well, here's the next part cx

Actually, this part was going to include the readers whole time at the party, but it turned out to be too long, so i'll have to seperate it into two parts. xD

YAY MORE FOR YOU!~

_And thanks for all those wonderful ideas in the comments in part 4 c; I put in as much as I could in this first part of the party as I could c;_

And feel free to keep suggest what fun they should have at the party with the reader, and i'll try adding it in if it doesn't effect the plot!


	7. Teach me

**_Previously, it turns out that the BTT indeed had a party held at Francis's house, and looking for an explanation, you decide to head on in instead of just heading back home, since your grade was basically based on how well you did on that project. Having to go through a very drunk Arthur, getting harassed by a group of popular girls, and meeting Alfred, your day was getting hectic before you even found the bad touch trio..._**

You walked around a bit, it probably wasn't the largest kitchen in the world, but it was still surprised you with how vast the area seemed. One of the kitchen walls were knocked down, so that it led straight into what seemed like another guest room, making the space seem even larger, instead of closed walls which gave more of a sense of claustrophobia, to you at least. The dim lighting accompanied by the music muffled by the walls, and the bright lights that would flash every once in a while gave the room a bar-like feeling, especially since there was a counter where people were fetching their own drinks at. No one stayed too long there though, just grabbing something quick alcohol or something and leaving to go where most of the others were at, the main area with the dancing and deafening music.

But none of that interested you right now, not the dancing, or the music, or the drinks. You were here strictly for homework, it's not like you were invited to this party anyways.

'You don't belong here...' The voices of the girls from earlier rung through your head again, "They're just words..." You tried to convince yourself, "Of course I 'belong' here, they're the ones who invited me in the first place. It's not my fault they happened to be throwing a party too. Maybe... maybe they did it on purpose, maybe they wanted me to be at Alfred's party with them..." But as much as you tried, the things they told you before still stuck in your head. It didn't matter what others may believe, words hurt you more than you'd think reasonable, and the thought of them actually wanting you to party with them seemed completely unreasonable. Who would go to so much trouble to invite_you_to something so... fun?

You sighed and leaned against a wall. 'Yeah, they're right; I really shouldn't be here...' Your eyes trailed around to the faces of people walking by, all of them laughing and giggling. They were gossiping, and chatting, and knowing each other, and knowing what to do in this place, and where to go, and how to have fun. And then there was you, you who didn't know where to even start looking for the three.

'Heck, I haven't ever even been to a party before, too,' You thought sadly. It wasn't something to brag about, but it wasn't surprising to you. How could you go to a party if there were no friends to invite you? This was technically the first party you've been invited to, and you_ weren't even invited_. Your eyebrows creased as you stared at the ground, as if there was an intricate puzzle there that had to be solved, though it really was just you zoning out, listening to the thoughts at the back of your mind that told you that everything you were doing was just a big mistake.

'I was mistaken, of course they don't want me here, the only reason Alfred didn't kick me out was probably because Francis invited me over. I bet the guy would have kicked me out just as quickly as he had those other girls, he didn't seem to have a problem doing that.' You inhaled a shaky breath, feeling your heart starting to race and your hands become clammy, even though you were just standing there, you started hyperventilating as you felt a panic attack going along. Why here of all places? You haven't had an attack for a while now, so why did you have to start receding into your head, into those thoughts in the first place? You knew how words and thoughts always ended freaking you out in the end.

"I never should have come here," You concluded with a whisper as you tried taking deep breaths to calm down. None of it was really working though. 'And this is why I don't come too close to others; somehow, I just get hurt in the end.' You thought, anger starting to seep in. But it wasn't the fact that you were panicking that was making you angry, it was that you _couldn't_get close to others without feeling like this in the long run. It was that you kept blaming others, when in reality, it was all you. It wasn't anyone else making you feel this way; no one really came up and told you those things. It was all just you and how you interpreted them.

The hardest part was that you understood that it was all just you, but even still, you felt so terribly dysfunctional and depressed. And knowing that no one was forcing you just made you more confused and even more miserable with yourself.

"Heyyyy, it's the frau! She really did come! Kesesese, see Francis, I won the bet, hand over my winnings!" You were rudely brought back to reality with the voice of Gilbert; his voice seeming to stand out from all the rest of the chattering that surrounded you. They waved as they started walking towards you, and you weren't sure then that if you were happy to see them, and happy that they brought you out of your thoughts, or if you were angry that they were interrupting your mental rant.

They walked towards you as you looked over them, they were all dressed up as if they were expecting a party in the first place, though the more you thought about it, you realized that those three seemed to always be dressed that way. It was as if they thought the world was going to spontaneously break out in some type of world-wide party, where everyone would just break out in song and dancing, and they would be completely prepared for it. You smiled at the thought of America shaking with the vibrations of everyone dancing simultaneously, oh how ridiculous that would be! And even though it looked like they had been partying for a while now, they still seemed as clean as before.

Especially Francis, you giggled as you saw that his hair was just as well tamed as it usually was, while Antonio's and Gilberts were nice looking in their own, messed up way. But then you reeled in your mind as you realized how much you had noticed about them in the little time you had met up with them. Just from what you knew now, you could probably assume that Francis held a comb on his person at all times, that Gilbert probably had the most unique laugh you had ever heard, and that Antonio was probably more caring and kind than what a lot of _girls_could ever hope to be. How could you have learned this much only from speaking to them, like, twice?

You were starting to sound like one of those boy-obsessed girls who always seemed to analyze everything about the guys around them. You had always found it ridiculous about how they could notice simple things like how many pairs of jeans a guy had, or if the guy had cut off half an inch of their hair or something, it had just seemed too absurd to bother paying heed to all those things... but here you were, doing the exact thing subconsciously with these three guys. How ironic.

Blinking rapidly as you backed away, Antonio stopped waving his hand in front of your face. "Haha, you're really dazed aren't you, _?" The three of them were standing around you now, probably wondering why you had gotten so silent. You were thankful at this moment that you weren't the more talkative type, at least to them, or else your silence would have been even more awkward than what it already was.

"Oh, haha, sorry," You laughed, trying to hide your nervousness of being here, "But um, what's going on Francis?" Turning to give as serious a look as you could muster, you asked, "Weren't we going to study? I mean, my grade relies on this, and-and we can't procrastinate. I don't want to leave this to the last minute, and I don't know if I'll have more time to get together to work with you guys again, I really only had today, and then I came here and there was all this, and Arthur was at the door (which by the way Francis, he seems like one crazy house mate), and I don't even know what that was about, but I made it in still and then those girls coming up to me..." You thought about those girls and things they had told you again.

"Whoa whoa whoa, calm down, s'il vous plait!" Francis cried out, grabbing at your arm, "No need to get so antsy, ma Cherie," You hadn't realized that you had been subconsciously scratching at your arm through your jacket in the first place, until Francis had grabbed it. And that scared you.

"Francis didn't even know that there was going to be a party here," Gilbert tried explaining, draping an arm around your shoulders and pulling you towards thebar counter, Francis and Antonio following and nodding along to what Gilbert said, "Like Francis said, he thought that Arthur was going to hang out with Alfred today, but it seems like when Alfred came over, Arthur seemed a bit tense, so he decided to throw a party for him to calm down." He said that as if it was something normal, for someone to throw a party for another just because they seemed a bit 'tense.' You'd be partying non-stop if that was in your case.

You all sat down on some barstools, "So we're sorry that we aren't able to work today," Antonio said, genuinely sounding upset, and mimicking the tone of what the other two's faces told you.

You shook your head, "No, no you're alright." It really wasn't their fault, so it didn't matter anymore. You smirked at them though, saying, "So you didn't actually plan out a sneaky party to sneakily try inviting yours truly over?" You swear you could have choked on all the cockiness your tone held in that last sentence.

"No no no no, don't worry, we certainly didn't trick you into something like that," They all laughed cheerfully, "We really were going to work today, we swear, if we knew there was going to be a party like this, we would have rescheduled it! Sorry to be a bother to you," Antonio apologized for the group again, something that seemed like his specialty.

You laughed along of course, but still felt your stomach drop a bit. They obviously didn't mean to be rude, but some small part of you had actually hoped that they would have actually invited you over, like the sneaky tricksters they were, to a party like this. But that was just setting your hopes too high, you were just a classmate they got partnered up with. Nothing more.

"No, no, you're fine." You assured them, you were a bit disheartened now, but you didn't let it show, "Well, I'll be off now. No need for me to keep imposing your party, we can just reschedule working on the project later, I guess." You moved to stand up, but they stopped you.

"Wait a second frau, how about we just study at my house next time?" You looked at Gilbert hesitantly, after what happened today, you weren't too sure... "Don't worry, _, mein bruder would kill me if I tried to host a party, so there's no worries about that happening!" Francis and Antonio chuckled along with Gilbert, all three of them remembering Gilberts brother, "He's totally such a pain in the ass, he's just the biggest neat freak I know!" Gilberts eyes seemed to twinkle mischeviously as he spoke, "He will make sure we don't get off track, so we can get the stupid project over with. And we can just go after school tomorrow,"

He looked around at everyone, "Don't worry about it, I'll drive us. I live pretty close to the school anyways." He listed his address off for you, and you almost hesitated at the thought of him taking you there. Him taking you somewhere meant that he would have to drop you off too. And you didn't want them dropping you off at all. But the address he gave sounded close enough for you to walk home, so you agreed.

He seemed like he would have continued talking, but you interrupted him. It wasn't late at all, but you still didn't feel like overstaying your welcome here right now, you felt uncomfortable being at someone else's house anyways, "Um, well, sure Gilbert. Anways, I'll see you guys later!" You waved and stood up to leave again when they stopped you once more.

"Slow downnnn," Francis complained, "Don't be in such a hurry, I don't see why you are, you're here anyways, so why don't you just stay?"

"Pleaseeeeeee," Antonio pleaded, "Pretty please with a cherry tomato on top?"

You shook your head, "No, I really should be going..."

Gilbert grabbed your chin with his hand and suddenly your eyes were staring straight into his striking red ones, you never really realized how unnatural they were. They just seemed so accepted on his face, his red eyes and his white hair... but now was not the time to think about this. He face was close, just a little more than wayyyy too close for comfort. "Please please please please please please, stay for the party with us?"

You felt your cheeks head up in his hand as you heard the rest of the trio snickering at this little scene. Snapping out of your daze you pulled away and huffed lightly, "Fine. If you really want me to." You couldn't help but let a little grin flash on your face as you realized someone wanted you to actually 'hang out' with them.

"Yay!" They all cheered happily.

You shook your head as you giggled, 'I guess they're a little more drunk than what they let on. Not as much as Arthur... but certainly still drunk.' You used their drunkness to explain their odd behavior. Your mom always acted weird when she came home from a bar, so why not them?

"Have you guys been drinking?" You asked lightly, feeling slightly more comfortable knowing that they didn't mind you being here.

They looked at on another, stifling laughter, "Of course we have, what type of party would it be if we didn't drink anything!" Antonio stated, as if it was an obvious face everyone knew about.

"Oh..." You said, a bit confused and embarrassed. It wasn't like you would know, considering your lack of knowledge, "Well sorry for my idiotic-ness, I wouldn't know about this stuff. I've never been to a party before, how would I know what to do!"

That's when it seemed like everything just stopped. The trio had frozen and stared at you as if you grew a third head. "Y-You have never been to a party before?" Francis restated, sounding like he was either very surprised, or very terrified, as if the possibility of a teenager who had never partied was impossible.

You cringed at their responses, "Oh yeah... right. I... don't really get out much."

After a few more awkward stares at you, Gilbert chuckled, "Well then, we'll just have to fix that now, don't we." He smirked cockily towards Antonio and Francis, a silent agreement flashing on their faces.

"Out, ma Cherie, it seems like we're going to have to show just what it's like to have fun at the part with the Bad Touch Trio!" Francis said as he stood up dramatically.

Antonio cheered, feeling more pumped now that they seemed to have a 'goal' in mind for tonight. "You'll see, partying is a lot of fun chica!"

You shook your head at their silliness, well, if this is what they really wanted, you weren't going to object to having fun for once in your life. "Fine," You said as you grinned at them, "Show me what you've got."

* * *

Oh my god I'm so sorry. This is definitely taking longer than it should, I swear this party will never be over XD I can't beleive that I was planning to write about your time at the party in one part, now it's going to be three! Psh wow!

& um, sorry if it seems like one chara of the trio is having more attention than the rest, i try having them all speak equally cx  
Though I did promise a friend that I would have more prussia in this one for them kesesese

**I seriously knew someone who would memorize what types and how many pants everyone had btw XD It was insane, but they said they did it to exercise their mind so that they would have less of a risk of alzheimers when they grew up.  
But rlly, try it sometime. Go forth and memorize peoples jeansssss~ c: **  
& chocking on your cockiness... oh my god I couldn't stop laughing at that sentence you don't even know

And feel free to keep suggest what fun the btt should have with the reader, and i'll try adding it in if it doesn't effect the plot!


	8. Lets party?

**_Previously, admitting to the trio that you haven't ever partied, the BTT decided that it would be a good idea for them to show you what it's like to let loose and have some fun once in a while. _****_Good luck_**

* * *

Now that the adrenaline from before was wearing off, you weren't too sure about your decision anymore.

"A-Antonio... are you sure about this?" You whispered from the other side of the door. You weren't ready to go in yet, but they guys were all sitting in Francis's bedroom, waiting for you, no doubt smiling broadly.

"Yeah chica, I know exactly what I'm doing!" You heard him say from the other side, "It's okay really, you're beautiful! You'll be fine!"

After hearing the other two chide into the conversation with their agreements, you blushed at the compliment Antonio might have not noticed giving you, it seemed to be in their nature to be so... flirty. You huffed lightly and brushed at your clothes. 'Well, it's now or never...' You thought, as you reached for the door handle.

Leaving the bathroom and keeping your eyes to the ground, your cheeks reddened as you approached the guys who were sitting on the bed.

They really weren't saying anything, so you started to wonder if there was something wrong. You stopped a bit in front of them and twirled around in a circle.

Looking anywhere but at them, you asked quietly, "So... how do I look?"

-  
_**An hour or so ago... **_

The trio had dragged you to a more secluded area, a different room, so that there wouldn't be any distractions. After deciding that they were going to show you what a party was like, the first thing you expected was for them to drag you directly into the middle of the dance floor.

You shook your head full of thoughts, 'Silly me, I can't believe I expected them to just break out in dance in the heart of the party...'

Looking a little too excited, the three left you sitting the couch and walked out of earshot; huddled together, and whispering to one another. Little to say, you were definitely confused at what was happening.

With a laugh from each of them, _which you had to admit, creeped you out a bit, listening to them all laugh at the same time_, they high fived and turned to face you.

Francis put a hand on his hip and smirked, "Ohonhonhon, you don't have to look so worried, _, we were just planning out how tonight was going to work out..."

His words weren't exactly helping, and you had to admit that he was starting to sound a bit creepy. You abruptly stood up and eyed the door, "Actually, I changed my mind, and I was just leaving..." You grinned nervously.

Antonio sighed and put an arm on your shoulder, gently pushing you back onto the couch, "No, chica, really, we just had to sort things out. We haven't ever really had to teach someone how to... erm... party."

Gilbert spoke quickly, not leaving a chance for you to interrupt what they had to say, "Ja, so don't worry, and just listen."  
They sat down around you, Antonio next to you on the couch, and the other two on the floor facing you guys.

Seeing you nod your head for them to carry on, they smiled and started to explain.

With an expert smile, Gilbert started, "So, we thought about what makes up a party, and there's really just three aspects that each of us can teach you!"

With an excited nod, Antonio chirped, "Si! First will be me, and I'll be in charge of your outfit!"

You scowled, "What do you mean 'my outfit'! I think I look perfectly alright, for your information." You were about to start rambling, but you caught yourself and stopped with a 'Hmph," and a pout.

He laughed lightly and shook his head, "No, I mean, if you're at a party, you should like you're ready to party!" He looked over your outfit, "And frankly, an oversized hoodie isn't the most appropriate, I think."

Still pouting as they all smiled, you nodded slowly, "Okay... okay fine. But it's not my fault that I didn't know there was going to be a party here." Not wanting to go back to that sensitive topic though, you kept speaking, "But I did say that I'd let you guys show me what it's like..." _'Even if I don't want to anymore'_ "...so what are you going to do about it?"

You looked at Antonio, "I mean, you don't carry dresses and such around on your person... right?" Your eyes widened slightly, 'Oh my god, at least, I hope that they don't. I mean, I'm not sure what those _popular_ people do... and these guys always seemed to be prepared... so maybe they do? But... that would be so-so weird! What type of guy would carry that kind of stuff around?'

You were kind of just staring at his face with a growing expression of horror, though the guys didn't really understand why. Deciding that you were just being you, Antonio laughed loudly and shook his head, "No! I don't carry around clothes with me. At least, not girls' clothing."

That's when you became a bit confused, "But... then how are you going to show me what to wear at a party?"

Francis started laughing his creepy laugh again, and you turned to him, wide-eyed. "Well... this is my house so..."

You still didn't catch on to what he was hinting to... you obviously knew that he lived here, but so what?

He chuckled at your puzzlement, "Silly fille, I live here, so I have a closet... with clothes in it..."

You gasped lightly, 'Wait a second, is this guy... offering his clothes to me?'

-  
_**Back to the present**_

And that's how you got in this situation. They had dragged you over to Francis's room after that, with him apologizing and saying, "Mon dieu, I'm so sorry, but I don't really have anything your size, so it'll be a bit baggy on you... but we're mostly here to teach you how to dress, right?"

You had facepalmed then, but decided to play along and be nice. At least they were trying.

Antonio had then stalked through Francis's extensive closet _"Wow Francis, you have lots of stuff!"_ and had pulled out a few things from the back of the closet, just some clothes that didn't fit Francis as perfectly, and maybe suit you better, and had put them in your arms.

Antonio had then shoved you into the bathroom and ordered you to change, and considering you didn't seem to have much choice, you did. Though you were still really really _really_ uncomfortable with it all. But you had pushed the fact that you changing into someone else's clothes to the back of your mind.

'Not just someone else... Francis... the guy who had first approached you all those years ago... His clothes...' You shook your head to clear the thoughts; it would just make everything more and more awkward.

"So... how do I look?" You asked after a small twirl. Antonio had basically handed you the same type of clothing they were wearing at the moment, deeming them 'party clothes'.

You were wearing skinny jeans now, _at least, they were supposed to be skinny jeans, but they didn't fit all that well considering that they were Francis's_, along with a jacket and a short sleeved shirt that read, "I'm lost, take me with you?" on it, which was a shirt you typically wouldn't be caught dead in, but Antonio said that it was either that or a shirt that said in big bolded letters, with an arrow pointing downward, "NOTHING'S BIGGER THAN THIS PROBLEM RIGHT HERE."

Yeah...

But all that aside, you were now standing before them, waiting for a response.

It was all silent for a moment, which made you feel more than a little uncomfortable, until Antonio stood up and started circling around you.

"Uhm. Um. Uhmmmmm... What are you doing?" You froze in your spot as you watched him pass in front of you a few times as circled around, not saying anything and just humming quiet noises as he checked out the clothes. _At least, you thought it was only the clothes he was checking out... hopefully._

"Oh, nothing. Just seeing how it looks on you!" He said, deep in thought.

'Wow, he's really getting into this...' you thought as he stopped circling and was just standing there staring at you with a calculating look.

It was all you could do to not just drop to the ground or hide your face in awkward embarrassment, you've never really been in a situation like you were in now, and you doubted that you had ever felt this awkward in your life. It was all a bit too much for you to handle.

"Nope. It looks terrible." He decided with a nod.

Your eyes shot up to him, surprised at how blunt he was. 'I mean, sure i might not be the best looking person around, but surely this wasn't too bad...' You blushed in annoyed embarrassment.

Francis frowned at Antonio and said, " 'ey, that's not nice, mon ami. I think that she looks wonderful in my clothes!" He said with a mock hurt tone, trying to twist his face into a sad frown, but instead ended up with a smirk on his face, one that you ignored since you were still a bit upset at Antonio.

"No, not her. She's fine, it's just your clothes Francis, just look! They're much too large on her, she might as well continue wearing her own clothes." He said, nodding with his words as if they were the most reasonable and obvious things.

He noticed that you were starting to get angry, considering that you were frowning largely in his direction, clearly unamused as he bashed on your clothes, "No! I mean- um..." He put a hand on your shoulder and sighed, leaning more in your direction, "Look, we're trying to get you dressed for a party, si? And you should feel comfortable and beautiful, no?"

You relaxed a little and nodded, so he continued, "And do you feel beautiful and comfortable?"

You sighed and shook your head, admitting that you definitely didn't feel beautiful nor comfortable in Francis's clothes. It's not that they were too big on you, it's not like you were _that_ skinny or something, it's just that you didn't feel relaxed in them, and certainly didn't make you feel like those other girls who always seemed confident enough to go out and party.

Francis whined and pouted, and Antonio walked over to the two still sitting on the bed, and whispered among their selves again. You figured that that was a normal thing for the three, they were really close after all, so you just stood there pulling at the shirt you were wearing, feeling out of place, and waited for them to acknowledge you again.

"No way Francis, that's so weird!" You suddenly heard Gilbert exclaim loudly.

Curiosity getting the best of you, you sneaked closer to them to try to listen in. You slowly approached Antonio, tiptoeing closer and closer to where they were gathered. Antonio was standing in front of the two, thus blocking them from noticing you. You had finally reached him, and standing pretty close behind Antonio, you started to listen in.

"Well then, sounds like a plan!"

And suddenly Antonio stood and backed up, it seemed that they had just finished their little 'meeting', just your luck. You squeaked as he bumped into you, "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry, I was just..." You tried to think up a proper excuse as Antonio recovered from the sudden bump, but nothing came to mind.

Francis and Gilbert had creepy smiles on their faces, which you didn't understand why, but Antonio just brushed himself off and said, "Don't worry about that, _or them, I think their faces are permanently stuck that way_, you're fine." Gilbert and Francis made faces at Antonio, and he stuck his tongue back at them.

Antonio remembered you and clapped his hands together, "Come now, I know exactly what you should wear!"

He tried to pull you back into Francis's huge closet, but you pulled away and fell out of the closet, "Nope, you grab whatever you want me to wear Antonio, I'll just wait right here." You pointed to the ground and stomped lightly to add emphasis to your words. The thought of going into the closet didn't appeal to you, it was a bit stuffy to you, and made you feel claustrophobic.

Too excited to try convincing you to join him though, Antonio continued his search for... whatever clothes he wanted to wear.

Your eyes flickered over to Francis and Gilbert, but you noticed that they were staring at you too, so you quickly jerked your eyes back to the closet. It was always awkward when you met eyes with someone who was staring at you, at least in your opinion.

"Perfect!" Antonio finally came out of the closet ((Excuse the pun, hurhurhur)) and grinned flamboyantly.

And suddenly the next few seconds happened in a frenzied blur, with Antonio rushing out of the closet, _with commentary from Gilbert about how Antonio was finally 'coming out of the closet'_, shoved a dress in your arms, and pushed you back into the bathroom.

"And you better not come out with your hair still braided!" He cried from the other side of the door, "Believe me, you'll look better with it let down!"

You took a minute to get ahold of yourself, like noting where the hell he shoved you into, and calming your heavy breathing.

You studied the dress he had handed you, it was a lovely (-insert awesome party dress color here-) color, and it was a really nice dress. You couldn't believe that they wanted you to wear it. _You._

Without a second thought, you gently took off Francis's clothes, _Still shaking your head and wondering whatever had possessed you to try them in the first place_, and folded them, pulling the dress on. You weren't able to tie the bow in the back, but you figured that Antonio could do that later.

Reaching for the door, you remembered Antonio's request, and undid your braid, letting your hair fall on your shoulders. Giving a quick glance to the mirror, you stopped for a second and you froze. 'What the hell am I doing?' Everything from the past hour or so came rushing at all at once, this day had been flying by so quickly! And the trio? Before you wouldn't even talk to them, but now you were _partying_ with them?

'This is so ridiculous! Absurd!' You thought to yourself. You took a breath and smiled softly to yourself, 'But... but it's really nice. It's like we're friends or something... and it's lots of fun. More fun than I'd had in a very long time.'

You jumped as you heard a knock at the door, "Hey, are you doing okay in there frau?" Gilbert asked, "You were getting a bit silent..."

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine!" You said hurriedly, thinking up a proper excuse this time, "I just couldn't tie this bow in the back of the dress, that's all!" You opened the door to face them, mentally patting yourself on the back at your quick thinking.

By the time you had left the bathroom, Gilbert had marched back to the bed, and all three of them had started chattering with one another, a conversation quickly created, and were now laughing at whatever Gilbert had said.

"And then he said that awesome-ness wasn't even a word, how ridicul...ous..." Gilbert was speaking rapidly, but when he noticed you, he slowed down to a stop and just stared, causing Francis and Antonio to turn their heads to see what had distracted Gilbert.

Your hands fiddled with your dress as Francis let out a low whistle, "S-So.. how do I-"

They immediately interrupted you, "You look great!"  
"Amazing!"  
"Much better than Francis's ratty clothes!" _Gilbert had gotten a light punch from Francis with that comment_

You blushed at all their compliments, even if you knew they were just saying it because it was the gentleman thing to do, it still meant a lot to hear compliments, "Er, thank you..." You turned around to face the other direction and pointed at your back, "Could someone tie this for me though?"

Francis was the first one who stood to do it, but Antonio had insisted that he should, considering that this was his part of teaching you. He quickly tied the bow and you turned to face them all again.

'This dress may be pretty... but it's more uncomfortable than my sweater...' you pointed out to yourself, but you didn't want to have to change again, so you stayed quiet.

"Well, I think we're done here," You said, '_I hope...'_, "So... yay or nay?"

They all brought their hands up high and gave you the thumbs-up sign, "YAY!"

And with that, Francis had declared that it was his turn to teach you his specialty next, and you just nodded.  
"Wait, Francis, why did you have a dress in your closet anyways..."

-

You were all sitting in various spots in the room. You and Francis sitting cross-legged on the bed as Antonio and Gilbert were sprawled on the floor. Francis had decided that they weren't special enough to sit on the bed with him while he taught you his part, for whatever unknown reasons. You didn't want to try reasoning through how their thought processes worked.

It was Francis's turn now, and he decided to teach you the art of... flirting. "It's really simple, actually," He said as he flipped his hair, "Basically, just smile a lot, keep eye contact, and give lots of compliments!"

Your eyebrows came together in a bit of confusion, "...And that's it? No other wise words to give me? That doesn't sound easy at all!" Not that you were planning on flirting with anyone in the future, but what type of advice was that supposed to be? It was terribly vague for something that was supposed to be so terribly difficult.

"Oui. That's it." He nodded and smiled. "'ere, let me demonstrate."

You waited for him to demonstrate, when he suddenly smiled (flirtily?) at you and said, "Well, if I hadn't known you before and wanted to try flirting with you, I would have done this..." He gently set a hand on yours, which surprised and made you flinch, almost jerking your hand away from his, but he was holding on too tightly for you to have done that. He smiled and looked straight into your eyes, "And I'd tell you that I loved how that dress looked on you, and how your eyes shone brighter than anyone else in the party, or that the moment I saw you, I knew you were the one for moi."

His voice had lowered to almost a whisper, and he just kept on leaning closer and closer to whispering in your ear. You blushed profusely at his words, things that you never thought you'd hear before, when he suddenly pulled away and smirked at you, "See, and just like that! It's super easy, you try!" He leaned back on both his arms while looking at your reaction.

You smacked yourself mentally for getting too caught up in the moment, and hoped you weren't blushing as much as you felt you were. 'He had even told me that it was just a demonstration... I just...' you looked at the guy with a sideways glance, 'I just got caught up in the moment. Gosh, he's a fucking professional... No wonder this guy's so popular with the ladies.'

You harrumphed and folded your arms, looking away snottily, "Well. It's not like you're an expert or something, I could totally tell you were flirting." You lied, but whatever. You weren't about to assure the already overconfident guy that he had made your heart flutter for a second.

"Ohonhonhon, really _? You think so?" He suddenly shot forwards and placed a hand gently on your heart. You tried to scurry away, but it was difficult to do on the bed. You were puzzled at what he was doing... and his hand was getting a little too close to your chest... "See, your heart is still beating quickly!" He stated triumphantly.

"N-No way, you just startled me right now!" You countered; getting annoyed at all his sudden actions.

He just laughed it off, "Sure, whatever stops the tears at night, ma petite." Francis suddenly looked thoughtful and glanced over your shoulder.

You followed his gaze to gilbert as he stood up stretching his back from lying on the hard floor, and said, "Guys, I'm going downstairs to get a drink. Just come get me when you need me for my part!"

After gilbert left, Francis seemed to have an epiphany as he smiled widely and motioned you to come so he could whisper something to you. Reluctantly, you crawled over to him and he put a hand up to your ear to whisper, "How about your first test be Gilbert over there. Just do something quick like me, and we'll see what his reaction is."

Your eyes grew wide at the thought and your heart picked up speed again, what was this guy trying to do, give you heart problems? "What, no freaking way am I going to do that, that's so awkward!" You harshly whispered back. Francis flirting to you was one thing, but you doing it to one of the guys, to_Gilbert_ was a little too much for you to handle.

"Either him or Antonio, you take your pick." He said stubbornly, his smile holding true on his face.

You glared at him as you heard Antonio peek up from the end of the bed, "Pick me for what?" He chimed in.

'Well, that was unexpected...' You thought as you flinched, you had thought he had left a while ago. "No wait, nothing Antonio. It's absolutely nothing." Glaring at Francis once more, you headed towards the doorway. Flirting with Gilbert would be better than Antonio, not that you didn't like him, but he had probably already heard everything you were talking about, and that bothered you a bit.

Not letting Francis's amused chuckles get to you, you closed the door to his room, heading downstairs to where Gilbert said he could be found. The kitchen.

-  
_Here let's switch over to __**Gilberts POV**__ c: No wait I'm not sure whose pov this is XDD_

Gilbert clambered down the stairs noisily, making a beeline to the kitchen. Nothing says awesome like a party with something alcoholic to drink, something my friends and I believe wholeheartedly.

He managed to avoid some of the rabid girls from the school, and sat down with a sigh on a barstool. Gilbert reached his hand out to grab the energy drink, which was provided at the party as an alternative to something alcoholic, since none of them were quite the legal drinking age of 21. Yet.

'Only three more years!' Gilbert exclaimed internally as he pumped a fist into the air, accompanied by an eager swig of the energy drink. He jumped off the barstool to go lean on the doorframe, examining the group of people moving and jumping and dancing around to the beat of the music. All the colors of the rainbow were flashing in bouts of light in various directions all over the room, creating shadows one minute and brightly lighting others in another.

It was a bit disorienting, but was one of the things Gilbert had to say he enjoyed most about a party. 'A party wouldn't be a party if it wasn't a bit hectic,' he thought proudly to himself, something one could always expect at a party Francis was hosting. Not that it was his friends' idea in the first place...-

"Gilbert! Gilbert! Gil- Oof," I turned around abruptly to see _ on the ground, and by the looks of a group of people standing nearby, snickering not so discretely, he could only assume that they had done something to cause her to fall. He scowled at the group as he reached down and pulled her up.

You didn't seem fazed at all though, as you quickly brushed yourself off and smiled up at him. "Haha, sorry, clumsy me, not watching where I was going..."

He didn't really pay attention to your words and admired that you were able to easily put them off. But that also scared him a bit, the fact that you seemed to be used to treatment like this... but that couldn't be possible, people just weren't rude like that. Those kids were just playing around and you probably knew it, which explained why you were able to so easily brush them off.  
Nodding to himself as he seemed to answer the own question in his head about how you were able to pay no mind to those kids, he asked, "So, why did you come to see me? I thought Francis was still teaching his _amazing_ tricks to_l'amour_"

He said l'amour in the best imitation of Francis's French accent, which ended up sounding terribly horrible, and in turn hilarious to you. Gilbert lips slightly turned up in a light smile as he saw you chuckle shyly at the poorly done imitation.

"Um, well, we finished up fairly quickly and he said that... I should go take a break!" Gilbert thought you looked a bit uncertain at what you were saying at one point, but brushed that thought off as you continued, "And so I decided to come down here and, well, see how you were doing." Your nervous tone of voice calmed a bit as you finished the sentence, leaving the slightly bewildered face of Gilbert staring at you cautiously.

'Why did she come to me if Francis told her to take a break... Maybe those two managed to scare her off?' He snickered at the thought, which was most certainly a possibility of the actions that had taken place upstairs, knowing his friends...

"Soooo, Gilbert," You started saying as he led you two to a more silent area, and sat down on a couch in the corner of the room. He wasn't sure what to say to your fidgeting, but he figured that you were just a naturally squirm-y person.

"I... " You weren't sure how to start this flirting thing, so you decided to just do the same thing as Francis had, it didn't seem to fail him, so you hoped it wouldn't lead to embarrassment for you. Gilbert was looking more and more confused with you as you noticed that you were stretching out saying 'I' way too much. You shut up and coughed shyly, composing yourself as you tried to remember what Francis had done upstairs.

You shifted your body, moving so that you could be in a more comfortable position, eventually gently setting a hand on Gilberts own. The one not clutching the drink, of course, the one that was conveniently placed on the couch between you and him.

He looked up at you even more puzzled than before, "Ummmm..."

Your heart racing a million miles an hour, you looked straight into his eyes, just as Francis had done to you, and said, "I love what you're wearing today, and um, how it looks on you," You were feeling terribly awkward and hoped that Gilbert wasn't feeling as awkward as you. Okay, so maybe saying exactly what Francis said wouldn't work, you'd have to improvise a bit...

"And your eyes shine brighter than anyone else in the party!" 'Even though I haven't paid any attention to anyone's eyes...' you thought to yourself, but continued.

"And the moment I saw you, I knew you were the-" Wait a second, maybe that was taking it a bit too far. Francis could get away with saying something like that, but you were definitely not the type to say something outright like that. It could make whatever friendship you had with him, very, very awkward. "the... MOST AWESOME GUY EVER!" You quickly blurted out.

'Okay... maybe not the best cover up, but the guy seems to be infatuated with the word awesome, so hopefully that works...' Your eyes tore away from Gilbert, his baffled expression getting to you. He definitely wasn't as charmed as you were when Francis had first taught you flirting.

Gilbert stared at you, feeling more puzzled than ever before, coming to the conclusion that you were the most bizarre girl he'd had the pleasure of meeting yet.

He didn't have to think of a way to end the awkward moment thankfully, since the sound of two signature laughs suddenly sounded from behind the couch. He facepalmed and started to chuckle along as what just happened pieced together in his mind.

-  
_Antonio & Francis POV c; Backwards a bit to the past when they were up in the room_

The moment you had closed the door behind you, Francis had jumped up and placed an ear to the door.

Antonio looked up from the place he was resting on the other side of the room as he watched his friend with curiosity, sitting up to get a better view of him, "Uh, amigo? What are you doing exactly?"

Francis smirked, a smile that could make others fairly anxious, and make a gesture that told Antonio to be silent. When he seemed content with what he heard, or didn't hear, from the other side of the door, he quickly raced to Antonio and grabbed his arm.

"Whoa, whoa, slow down there Francis! What are we doing?" It seemed like Francis had another plan brewing, at least as far as what he could tell from the mischievous grin Francis was flashing.

"Are you kidding? You think I'm going to just sit down here while _ goes off on 'er first attempt at flirting? No way!" He dragged Antonio to the door, "I'm going off to... watch over her," Francis stated, which most certainly sounded like was rather indicating, 'to eavesdrop'.

"Are you in?" Antonio grinned wildly at Francis's question, it honestly sounded like lots of fun, to see Gilberts reaction to this all. "What type of friend would I be if I left you alone to the job watching over her on your own?"

And with that, the two sneakily stumbled off towards the only place they were sure they were Gilbert would eventually end up sitting. The couch.

They were slyly following you from a not-so-close distance, and knowing that once Gilbert saw you, he'd lead you to his usual place of sitting, the far corner of the couch, waited until the perfect moment to run through the kitchen to the room. Their chance came at the time you were tripped and Gilbert helped you up to your feet. They certainly weren't pleased to watch one of the guys in the group not-so-subtly trip you, but they weren't about to let the perfect moment to sneak past get away.

With a dive behind the couch, Antonio and Francis ungracefully fell into place behind the couch. If the party wasn't so loud itself, then the two would have most certainly been discovered.

Francis laughed lightly, feeling the adrenaline pulsing through him and causing his heart to pick pace, as he was sure was happing to Antonio as well. With a look shared, he pointed a finger upwards to indicate if they should peek, and Antoinio nodded, holding three fingers up to start the countdown. Three... two... one!

They both slowly raised their head until the two were clearly in sight, only to be surprised that Gilbert was already heading this way.

Antonio yelped and hoped they hadn't seen them yet, as he ducked back behind the couch and pulled Francis along with him.

Francis chuckled lightly, a bit out of breath and murmured, "A bit too close for comfort, huh?"

"To say the least," Antonio murmured back in agreement.

They placed their backs against the couch, straining their ears in an attempt to hear what they were saying. When they were starting to doubt if they even were still there, considering the silence, until Francis heard Gilbert make a hesitant noise.

It was almost painful to not be able to see Gilbert or _ expressions, but there was nothing they could do without giving themselves away. Not sure what you were doing, the two listened to your... were you even trying to flirt?

After a few more seconds of listening in to you painfully trying to flirt, Francis almost choked with laughter as he realized that you were trying to flirt with Gilbert in the same way he had with you. It was too much; it was all he could do keep the laughter in.

Antonio gave Francis a puzzled look, but soon also realized what exactly you were doing.

The two looked each other in the eyes as they died of silent laughter behind the couch. The laughing died down when they heard you quiet down a bit, just to hear you say, "MOST AWESOME PERSON EVER!"

And that was the last straw. The two broke down in the most awful of laughing fits, clutching their sides and toppling over in the limited space behind the couch. Not able to contain it any longer, the silent laughter's turned into roaring chuckles at everything they had just heard.

Francis saw Gilbert peek behind the couch, and watched as he too eventually realized all that had just happened, just to see Gilbert also burst into laughter as he placed a palm to his forehead.

Oh, you were just too much!

-  
_Um back to your POV..._

After their laughing had died down, and you had finished with your embarrassment, they had all wandered back up into Francis's room, still the only truly silent place in the house, to see what Gilbert had planned for his turn. Francis had done enough damage, they had decided.

Once everyone was settled down, though the smiles remained on their faces, wider than you had ever seen yet, Gilbert exclaimed, "Well, frau, it's my_awesome_ turn right now!" He put an emphasis on the word 'awesome', using it just to tease you this time, you could tell. "And I'm going to teach you how to party!"

You decided to stop him right there, "No way. No way am I dancing. There is nothing you can do to make me." You folded your arms over your chest. You had suffered enough embarrassment today, and you definitely weren't up to embarrassing yourself some more by dancing.

A bit surprised by your sudden stubbornness, he tried again, whining, "But _, you have to! I have to teach you how to have a great time! Come on!"

You shook your head quickly, "No way am I going to fall into this peer pressure. Find some other way to show me a good time."

Francis quietly chuckled, at whatever sketchy thoughts were running though his head at you asking Gilbert to 'show you a good time', until Antonio gave him a quick jab at his stomach which quickly shut him up. No way was Antonio going to let Francis taint your innocent mind. Yet.

"But-," You stopped Gilbert before he could go on with his arguing, "I already said no Gilbert." You looked to the other side of the room as it went silent.

"Fine then..." He mumbled, thinking of a different idea.

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard the doorbell ring, though that was a normal thing at a party, but what truly bothered him was when he heard who it was.

"Oh, not _that_ party pooper again!" Francis exclaimed in annoyance as he threw his arms in the air. Gilbert nodded in agreement as he scowled at the door, "He complained last time too."

Antonio jumped up, "Come on, he's not that bad guys! I would get annoyed if I lived next to you too, if I had to go through listening to your party racket all the time, Francis!" He motioned to the door, smiling despite the scowls being thrown his way, "Let's go see what he wants, okay?"

The other two sighed and shrugged their shoulders as they followed Antonio downstairs, and though you weren't sure who exactly they were talking about, you decided to follow after them.

It was bizarre, that the music was no longer playing, but the noise from someone screaming quickly filled the silence.

"DO YOU KNOW HOW ANNOYING IT IS TO TRY AND GET SOME SLEEP AND HAVING TO LISTEN TO YOUR SHITTY MUSIC PLAYING ALL FREAKING NIGHT LONG?" You had reached the other three who were blocking your view of who was screaming at them. You noticed that the party had all but emptied out, and you figured that the guy had scared most of them away. Or that it was getting really late. You pushed the second thought to the back of your mind, not wanting to bother with that panicking thought.

"AND THE REST OF YOU BETTER GET OUT OF HERE BEFORE I CALL THE POLICE AND ARREST YOU ALL FOR BEING A PUBLIC DISTURBANCE!" By the anger in his words and the reaction of the few people left, you figured the guy must have also been giving a death glare to the people there.

You watched as the remaining people slowly shuffle towards the door of the house, hearing one murmur to a friend, _"Can you even get arrested for that?" "I dunno, but I'm not sticking around to figure out."_

When everyone had left and only the three boys and you were left standing there, alone to face the person that had disturbed the party (_Alfred & Arthur had decided to wave goodbye at the guests or something_) you watched the dark outline of the guy go to flip the light switch on.

You gasped at the sight of who it was...

-  
_Wow, I would so have a cliffhanger here but this wasn't where I planned on stopping... oh well._

You recognized him as one of the guys you had seen next door making pasta, the one with darker hair.

"Seriously Francis, you're insane! Why would you hold a party now! I thought we agreed to keep the crap until the weekends when I dont need to have to have enough sleep for school! Which I have tomorrow, as you know, and so do you bastardo! I can't get to sleep, and I've been trying to for the past hour, okay?"

Gilbert stopped his rant to walk up to him and stood as tall as possible, frowning at the other, "Hey, don't talk that way to Francis, it wasn't his idea anyways. If you have something against parties, go have a talk to Alfred, okay?"

You watched with interest at the four fuming boys, it seemed like him interrupting parties was a normal occasion, if he was threatening to call the police to report it as a public disturbance.

"Please, Lovi, just stop. You've already done enough damage, ending the party like that; it really wasn't your place to do so." Everyone turned to look at Antonio as he addressed _Lovi_.

With a final huff, and a furious glance back at them, he slammed the door shut as he stomped out of the house.

-  
_Later on... _

Everyone was back in Francis's room, and the group had been sitting in silence on his bed while Gilbert paced back and forth in front of the bed.

You were about to say that you were going to go home, finding no reason to stay here for any longer, when Gilbert suddenly stopped his pacing with an exclamation of, "Aha!"

Everyone was jolted from their inner thoughts as they looked up at him, "Guys, guys, revenge!"

They all looked at him like he was going crazy, so he continued explaining matter-of-factly, "We need to exact revenge on that rude, self-serving, interrupting, son of a-"

"Please carry on," Antonio interrupted, not at all amused by Gilbert.

"Whaaat? He keeps on bothering us each time, and he didn't even let me have my turn on showing _ a great time! So this is my turn's idea! For us to get revenge on Lovino!"

-

And that's how you all ended up standing outside of the twins house, after sneaking out with cans of cheese spray and a few rolls of toilet paper, Gilbert had given a hilariously dramatic speech.

And after that, all of you had gotten to work, arms flailing around, spraying cheese here, throwing a roll over there, not-so-accidentally throwing an empty can at Francis's face... you all had a bunch of fun pranking Lovino.

After you all were finished with that, you had all stood back to give the house a look-over. The three gave a shrill whistle at the sight of the mess they had created.

"No regrets." Gilbert suddenly stated plainly as he shrugged and waltzed back down the sidewalk. "That's enough for one night, it's almost midnight!"

You managed to choke as you took in another breath, running after Gilbert with the other two behind you, you circled around him to stop him from walking. "M-Midnight?" You tried not to sound too squeaky.

He looked puzzled but nodded slowly, "Ja... midnight. What of it?"

You swallowed a lump in your throat, "I... I should head home now." You noticed that your scooter was carelessly thrown on the sidewalk in front of the lawn of Francis, and even though you didn't remember when you had put it down, you were glad that no one had made away with it.

"Bye guys!" You picked up the scooter and started away, not listening to see if they gave a reply.

"Bizarre..." Antonio murmured as the three stood there wordlessly as they watched you scooter away into the night.

-  
_Back at home_

You noticed that your mom's car was parked and you inhaled a breath, this wasn't going to be good when she noticed you had been gone for so long.

You silently made your way down the stairs towards your apartment door and pushed the door open slowly, making as few noise as you could. But it wasn't quiet enough, apparently.

"Honeyyyyy, what are you doing babeeee," You heard your mom slur more than usual, and you weren't sure if that was a good or bad thing at the moment. Your mom either got really violent or really "sweet when she was drunk.

You inched towards her voice, which landed you in the living room. 'Please be so drunk you won't remember anything in the morning, please be that drunk, pleaseeee,' you pleaded internally. Your heart was beating faster yet, beating whatever records your pumping heart may have made earlier today.

Your mom was wrapped up in blankets on her place from the couch, and mumbled incoherently, "Where were you babyyy, I missed you so much hun." She wrapped her blanket tighter around her, even though it was warmer due to the fact that it was almost summer time.

You decided to play innocent, "I was just doing homework mom. There's this project I have to do, and it's the biggest one yet." You added emphasis to your words, and decided to throw in some flattery, even though you weren't sure if your mom could understand, "My grade depends on it, so I did my best, just for you mom. I know you worry about that stuff, mom."

She nodded in some sort of understand as her eyelids got heavier, "Of course, thank you hun. Just don't stay out that late next time."

You nodded feverously, "Yes, yes. I have to go out again tomorrow though, but I won't stay out that long I promise."  
'At least I'll try not to,' You added mentally.

With another quick nod, you quickly shuffled away, trying not to make it look like you were sneaking away too quickly.

"Love you mom," You threw in before you ran up the stairs faster than when people turn off the light and make a run for it.

Quickly throwing your scooter to the corner of the room, you threw yourself on your bed and gave a heavy sigh.

You gave a shaky laugh, "Today... today was..." You tried to think of words to describe today. Crazy? Insane? Out of the ordinary?

No, today was way different than the norm of your terrible life, you had put yourself more out there than normally, and had acted more out of the ordinary than usual, so much that if your mom had been watching you, she would have denied that was you... but still, you had to admit...

"Today was nice," You mumbled before falling asleep.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Please leave me feedback on what you thought, or if I made a mistake, or if there'e something I should fix.**

Wow I'm so sorry for the forever late update.  
But hey, I hope I made up for it by the fact that this is about 4 times as long as a normal chapter, so hey, it's as if I updated four parts, kay?  
**  
I just didn't want to make more parts about the party ugh sorry for all the filler, I just don't want to make it seem like the reader is suddenly magically friends with them, and so future events are more realistic, you have to be better friends with them. Thus this whole party scene. ****  
Ugh sorry if it's terrible ugh.  
Sometimes I just feel like I'm writing a crack fic XD ****"MOST AWESOME GUY EVAR OMG GILBERT LET ME RUB YOUR AWESOMENESS ALL OVER MY FACE KAY"****  
I dont even know anymore.**

**I dont even want to know why france had a dress in his closet okay i just no******

Oh! And a special thanks to those who gave me ideas on what should happen, for telling me to have them teach the reader three different things, another for telling me to add Lovino, and another for saying a story wasn't complete without cheese spray. c;

**Feel free to suggest things that you'd like to see in the story, and I'll see if I can add them if it doesn't affect the plot.**


	9. Need a ride?

**_Previously, the BTT took turns teaching you how to have a good time, and after a heart racing time, flamboyance, awkward flirting, cheese spray, and a close call with your mom, you ended up safe in your room, ready to face a new day of school and project working._**

* * *

It was nearing the end of the school day, with nothing really new happening to you.

You were still ignored by other students and people would still glare or look down on you on eye contact, but you weren't fazed by that. It wasn't like you weren't used to it or anything.

Though, the day had been easier to bear, what with the pleasant memories from the other day that kept a light smile on your face, and the fact that the recent friends _no, acquaintances_ you had made the other day would wave at you and actually acknowledge your presence. It was a new, unusual feeling, but you weren't complaining.

It was pleasant.

You eyed the clock warily, just as you and almost everyone else in class was doing, waiting for the last bell of the day to ring, and freeing them from the school. The sound of the teachers lecture droned on in the back of your mind, like some sort of background music no one really ever paid much attention to, but was always there.

You were going to go to Gilbert's house today, to hopefully complete the project this time, and that brought your thoughts back to this morning. Your mother hadn't been furious at you for staying out late, rather, she couldn't remember _anything_ from the other day, due to her getting a little excited at the local bar last night.

Not that you were complaining, it worked greatly to your advantage, since you had managed to fabricate a little lie about how you weren't able to go anywhere to complete the project, and had stayed at home in bed all day. Doing work of course, and not lazing about.

You gave a sigh of relief, glad that things worked so much to your benefit, it wasn't a usual occurrence for you, so you knew that you shouldn't push your luck this time.

Today you had to make sure that you got home on time.

Even if your mother had stated that she was going to be out even later this time, by orders of her boss who wasn't amused at her lack of productivity the other day, you weren't going to put your luck to the test.

"And as for the project," At hearing the mention of the cause of this week's problem, you tuned into what the teacher was saying as they continued, "I'm changing the deadline to tomorrow,"

Groans and protests from the students echoed through the class at the absurd proposition, but was quickly silenced by a glare from the teacher, "There are only six school days left, meaning tomorrow, the weekend, which doesn't count, and then the last week of school."

"So what!" A student started furiously, but was ignored, "And we all know how the last week of school goes. Nothing is due, tests have already been taken, and everyone is finished. And very few people come to the school, please, we all know of this. I don't want to be forced to fail you all because you decided to not come during the last week. So I'm terribly sorry for those of you who decided to procrastinate, because you have a lot of work ahead of you today."

And as if it was perfectly planned, the bell rang the moment the teacher finished his horrifying speech.

'He doesn't sound sorry at all...' you thought unpleasantly.

With grumbles and whispered insults to the teacher, students slowly exited the class, gathering in their groups to discuss on what they were to do now.

You groaned and wiped at your face, quickly standing up to search for the trio, who seemed to already left the class in a furious fashion.

'Well... we were going to work on it today anyways,' you thought as you trotted down the hallway towards the schools exit.

'I feel like I'm forgetting something... Ah no! I totally forgot to ask the guy where he lives!'

You groaned once more at your foolish planning, also realizing that you'd have to walk to wherever he lived, considering you had left your trusty scooter at home, right where you had thrown it the other day. You frowned as you pictured the exact spot you had left it.

'Well, I'd better hurry and find them before they leave!' You thought suddenly as you picked up your pace, hopelessly wishing that the trio had decided to stick around the school a while longer.

Soon you were met with the sun lightly beating down on your face and warmth immediately spread over you, a slight breeze blowing through your hair, cooling you down to just the perfect temperature. Perfect weather.

After a few quick looks around with none of the trio in sight, you tried to think up what to do.

There wasn't anyone you were familiar with enough for you to ask where they were, and time was running out. If they went home without you finding out where Gilbert was, you wouldn't be able to finish the project!

'There goes my grade...' You thought with a sigh as you sat down on a step, propping your head on your hands. The grounds in front of the school were nearly empty now as people were picked up or simply drove off home. You were pretty certain now that they were no longer at the school.

"Heyyy, if it isn't my little friend, _~" You jumped slightly and looked up to see who was talking to you. There were few at the school who called you friend. 'No wait, not even a few...' you thought grimly.

But your frown slowly turned into a smile as you saw who it was, one of the first _'friends'_ you had somehow made this year. "Alfr- I mean, Al! It's nice to see you again." You stood up with a grin.

Al was standing with a smirk on his face and a pose that possibly showed arrogance. You didn't pay much heed to that though as your attention went to the two people standing behind him. "Oh, are these your other friends?" You asked, honestly curious.

Al looked behind him for a glance, "Yeah, yeah. Artie and Matt, this is my _dear_ friend, _."

"Nice to meet you," You smiled at the two standing behind Al silently.

The one named Artie was dressed more extravagantly than other students at the school, and that was saying something. His clothes were bright pink and blue colors that nicely accented his light salmon colored hair. He had a bright smile on his face as he looked you over, "'Ello dahling!" He trilled.

Matt, on the other hand, had long blond hair that parted to frame his face; he wore a jacket despite the warmer weather, and what seemed like a short-sleeved shirt with a red maple leaf in the middle. Unlike Artie, Matt seemed to be glowering at you, for some unknown reason. You eyed him back, he seemed like the type girls would flock over, despite the rude aura he gave off.

'He looks like someone my mom would bang...' You thought with a twitch.

"So what's a pretty girl like you doing waiting out here?" He asked, you didn't notice the arrogant smile shared between the three of them.

'Maybe he knows where the guys are!' You thought excitedly, "Oh, waiting for some people. Don't suppose that you've seen the bad tou- I mean, Gilbert, Francis, or Antonio around? I have a huge project due tomorrow and they're my partners. Any chance you've seen them?" Your eyebrows raised hopefully.

Al waved a hand uncaringly, "Nah, haven't seen any of them."

"But we do know where they live!" Artie chimed in.

"Yeah, we could give you a ride if you need one," Matt leered.

You were pretty oblivious to whatever was going on; you couldn't help but admire the way that they practically just finished each other's sentences. In a way, they reminded you of the three you were off searching for, actually, but you couldn't bother them to go out of their way to take you to Gilbert's though! That would be ridiculously needy of you.

"No, no, I'm alright, I'll find them eventually." Actually by now, you were pretty certain that you'd find them at the school anymore. Maybe you could walk to Francis's house and get directions from there? But it was such a long ways away to reach by walking...

Before any more words were exchanged, a girl suddenly appeared and latched onto Al's arm, and you slightly jumped in alarm at the sudden appearance of someone new.

"Alfiee!~" The girl giggled and squealed as Al brought her in for a kiss.

Feeling more than a little awkward, you couldn't do anything else but just stand there and stare, with Matt and Artie giving each other amused looks at your reaction.

Al and the girl seemed to be getting a little into the kiss so you started to inch away. No time like the present to go searching for the three...

Artie grabbed your arm and enthusiastically whispered an explanation, _(Did this guy ever stop grinning?)_ "That is Al's girlfriend. They've been forever for forever and a half, haha! So don't mind them. Surely you didn't think he was single now, did you?"

You eyed the two, who had luckily stopped their lip action to simply hugging one another passionately, much to your relief.

"Yeah, nothing could break those two up." Matt added in nonchalantly, "At least, that's what _Al_ always says. For a guy who seems like he couldn't give two shits about others, he's pretty in love with that girl."

"That's right!" Al said, finally back to reality. He had an arm draped around the attractive girl, as they rejoined the group, "We're like that yin and yao stuff, huh?"

The girl giggled, a light sound filling the air, "Yang, Al. Yin and yang. Yao is the name of your Chinese friend, silly!" They laughed a bit at the mistake before Al turned to you again.

"Whatever, whatever. But hey, seriously, lemme give you a ride to where ya need to be _," He squeezed his girlfriend closer to his side, "We don't mind."

Matt and Artie shared a look with one another, knowing that whatever plans they may have had about having fun with you were over. Al was a completely different person around her. Al wasn't going to do anything sketchy with her around, she didn't know of his past foul actions and he wanted to keep it that way. Al was sure that she'd be scared away, considering that she was just one of those pretty-faced, popular girls. They had then decided to take their leave and go home before Al, seeing that they didn't want to tag along while you were being dropped off.

So with a disappointed sigh, Matt dragged Artie away. "Another time, Al?" He asked his friend, the second meaning clear to Al.

Al nodded forebodingly, "Another time."

You stared blankly at all that was happening, you could barely understand what was happening, it was so new. 'Just another world with another group of people I don't know anything about...' You thought to yourself.

You had put in that you were going to be off on your way too, but it seemed like Al was hell-bent on giving you a ride, so you didn't object any longer, following close behind the two lovers.

-  
_A wonderfully uneventful car ride later..._

"Thanks again for the ride," You quietly mumbled as you stumbled onto the sidewalk. With a quick wave, Al zoomed away, quickly leaving your sight.

'That guy's going to get a speeding ticket at that rate...' you thought with a hopeless shake of the head.

But first things first. You quickly ran up the two steps to the porch and, surprising yourself by not hesitating, rang the doorbell.

Someone who looked to be a year or two older than Gilbert, at least he was taller than the guy, answered the door. You looked up, you hadn't really thought of what other people lived in the same house as Gilbert, and so you were a bit caught off guard.

You stared at him blankly, noting his blond hair, which was neatly slicked back, the bright blue colors of his eyes, and the stern expression on his face. 'Huh. I guess he has roommates too? I swear I thought I had heard Gilbert lived with family...'

The guy raised a puzzled eyebrow and said, "Yes? May I help you?" And that's when you knew for certain you were at the right home; the guy had the same German accent as Gilbert... well, that didn't really affirm anything, but that should amount to something. Right?

"Oh, I'm just looking for Gilbert... we're supposed to work on a project. Is he around?" You fiddled with your hands nervously.

He shook his head and you felt your spirit drop, "No, he hasn't been home yet," At the sight of you he added, "But you can come inside and wait for him? I can go give him a call and ask him about what to do."

You quickly nodded your head, thankful that you didn't have to try to figure out where you were and find your way home from there. Maybe you should have paid more attention to the roads Al took to reach Gilberts house...

He stepped back to allow room for you to pass by, and silently shut the door behind you after you entered.

You watched him as he walked past you, down the hallway and turning into another room. 'Does he want me to follow or something?' You didn't know what else to do, you just decided to follow the guy anyways, and hope that he had walked into the living room or some other place you could wait for Gilbert.

You heard a higher pitched laughter coming from the room, though, one you decided couldn't possibly belong to the person who opened the door for you, and decided to peek in the room before entering.

'Better to be safe than sorry,' you muttered under your breath.

"Who was it Ludwig?" it turned out that the higher pitched laughter had come from a boy, who could almost have been Lovino's twin if it weren't for his lighter hair and younger appearance... or could it be...? You_ had _remembered seeing two boys at the window that night...

"Just one of Gilbert's friends. They need me to go give him a call real quickly, so I'll be right back," the person who was so-called Ludwig continued walking through the kitchen, apparently to give Gilbert a call.

"Oh I hope it's not Francis. He gives me a headache." A polite, Japanese-accented voice said. You leaned out a little farther to see who spoke, and it turned out to be a boy with short-cut black hair, sitting in a chair on the other side of the room with a hand placed on his forehead.

The one that looked like Lovino laughed as he took a cup of water and filled it at the sink, "No, Kiku, if it was Francis he would have used his own phone." After a moment's pause he added, "And he probably wouldn't have ringed the doorbell anyways."

Kiku silently agreed, and you watched the other boys eyes dart around the room, eventually landing on... you? He tilted his head and he seemed to look straight at you, causing you to squeal in surprise. You quickly retreated out of sight, back pressed to the wall.

'Gosh, that was a close call-'

"Hey, bella, come over here and say hi! I'm Feliciano!" The boy trilled from the kitchen.

'Nope. He saw me...' you sulked.

You took a deep breath and turned into the kitchen, "Um, hello. I'm _."

The black-haired boy nodded politely and replied, "Hello _, I am Kiku. A pleasure to meet you-"

Feliciano was suddenly in front of you, reaching out with his arms and bringing you in for a hug as your eyes went almost as wide as Kiku's, "Hey, _, you're friends with Gilbert, right? Why don't you become friends with us toooo!"

Kiku waved his hands around frantically as he paced around you two, "What are you doing? That's totally inappropriate behavior and you can't just do that to someone you just met!"

Feliciano's grin didn't falter though and he finally let you go to address his friend, "Why not!?"

You couldn't do much other than just stand there, feeling more than a little bit dazed. You had never met someone more touchy-feely in your life, and there was no doubt that you hadn't felt more uncomfortable in your life.

Kiku kept on panicking and debating with Feli, something about how he should respect others 'Personar boundaries' or something.

You turned slightly to see Ludwig facepalm as he entered the room, holding out a cell phone to you, "Um. Sorry for my friends, but here you go, my bruder is on the line now."

"Your brother?" You asked questioningly, not understanding why he wanted you to speak to his brother. Wasn't he going to go call Gilbert for you?

"You did say you needed to speak with Gilbert, ja?" He asked, a puzzled expression on his face.

You nodded quickly, feeling a bit embarrassed at your mistake, "Oh yes. Uh, sorry about that." You grabbed the phone and placed it on your ear, walking out of the room towards a more silent area, and leaving the three friends back in the kitchen to their quarrels.

"Gilbert?" You asked questioningly, not sure if there was still someone on the other line.

"Heyyy, frau, I hear you're already at my awesome home, huh? Already met my little brother, Ludwig?" His tone of voice indicated that he was smiling as he spoke.

"Wait. Little brother? Brother? Whaaat? He looks older than you, and he looks nothing like you!" You brought your voice down to a whisper, not wanting Ludwig's first impression of you to be that you were rude.

"Hey! Don't judge me by my height, it's not my fault I have weird genes," He huffed out, obviously used to this conversation that still seemed to strike a nerve with him, "But anyways, sorry about just leaving the school without you, forgot that we had to do this project today the moment we left class ahahahahaha! But Antonio just has to pick something off at his house and I'm driving, so we'll all see you soon! Gotta go! Auf weidersehen!"

...  
Dial tone.

You brought the phone slowly away from your ear, eyeing it. The nerve of the guy. He had hung up without letting you say much, and you couldn't do much about it. But knowing that they were on their way, at least, made you feel more relaxed.

It was awkward enough being at someone else's house, nevertheless being here alone while your supposed host was absent.

You were startled as you heard a crash coming from the kitchen, accompanied by some harsh lecturing.

Yeah, this was going to be a long day...

* * *

_Um yeah I don't have much else to say except_

_But hopefully none of you experience hate towards whoever the fck Als gf is. Like, she's not even an important character and doesn't even have a name ((__** AND YOU SHOULD SUGGEST SOME NAMES ACTUALLY**__)) but she's needed for things to happen in the future story plot line thing. Which actually kind of makes her a semi important character now._

_Ugh my mind._

_This story just seems more confusing to me the more I write and think about it but oh well._

_Actually this story is going to end up a lot more like a bttxreaderx2p!america story which is like the most weirdest pairing thing ever what am i doing for this fandom i'm not helping._

_And there's so many trio's in this chapter! *o* _  
_Like, axis powers and the btt and the 2P trio __Which I just made up right now but whatever_  
_Yesss_

_Um anyways please leave a review_  
_Reviews make me pleasure smile~_


	10. From the beginning

**AUTHOR NOTE:  
UGH GUYS SO SORRY FOR MESSING UP DATES IN THIS THING I JUST CANT EVEN.  
OKAY SO I'M TOO LAZY TO GO BACK AND CLEAR IT UP SO LETS JUST DO THIS. UM. YOU WERE ASSIGNED THE PROJECT ON FRIDAY, HAD THE PARTY THING ON SATURDAY, SUNDAY & WEEK RANDOMLY PASSED CAUSE YOU ALL IS PROCRASTINATORS, & NOW IT'S THURSDAY AND THE THING IS DUE ON FRIDAY (TOMORROW). THEN THERE WILL BE THE WEEKEND AND THE NEXT WEEK IS THE LAST DAY OF SCHOOL BUT THAT'S REALLY JUST LIKE A FREE WEEK CAUSE TEACHER DON'T DO SHIT THEN. OKAY? UGH SO SORRY I'M A HORRID WRITER IT'S MY FIRST FANFICTION GIVE ME A BREAK.**

_-_

_Previously, while waiting for the BTT, the 2P Trio stumbled upon you and Al offered to drive you over to Prussia's house to complete the project. He took you there, but Gilbert wasn't there so you had to awkwardly chill with the axis peeps. Woohoo._

* * *

Gilbert chuckled as he watched Antonio scramble around his house; there was always something satisfying about watching his friends panic.

"Please hurry up; she's already at Gilbert's house!" Francis huffed exasperatedly. He and Gilbert were standing at the door, with Gilbert's hands in his pockets and Francis's arms folded over his chest, tapping a foot impatiently as they waited for their friend.

"Don't worry Francis! Mein bruder and his friends are there for her," He said in a teasing tone, knowing that it would fluster him some more.

And it did, Francis started pacing back and forth and opened his mouth to continue his rant after a few steps, "Who knows what they'll do to her they're so crazy, really-"

But he didn't finish the sentence since Antonio sprinted down the stairs and the clambering of his footsteps drowned out Francis's rant. "It's okay! It's okay! I'm all ready to go now, let's go!" He didn't wait for a reply and quickly opened the door. He held the door, bouncing from one leg to the other anxiously as his friends shuffled out the door.

-

After the call with Gilbert, Kiku had invited you to join them in the living room. He had lectured his friends that it was impolite to leave a guest alone and had insisted that they accompany you until the trio arrived.

So with that, you were all currently resting in the large room, the three of them resting on the plush couch as you sat on the armchair. Feeling a bit awkward as you sat there, you weren't sure where to look so your eyes wandered about until they rest on the window. The shades were pulled back so the sun filled the room with natural light.

It was a very nice day, the weather was great and the chattering of the three was somehow calming to listen to, even though you had zoned out from the conversation. Figuring that you weren't being very polite, as they _had_ decided to stay with you instead of leaving you alone to do whatever they were here to do, you turned to look over at them and join whatever conversation they were having.

"Yeah! I can't wait for school to end, because then that means there's summer and where there's summer, there's swimming! I love it when we visit the beach!" His eyes shimmered with excitement as the couch creaked a bit with his bouncing around.

Ludwig placed a hand on his shoulder to calm him down as Kiku said, "Ah, I don't know Feli, I don't really enjoy the beach all that much..." Feli's excitement dulled though so he quickly added, "Not that I don't like being with you! It's just I feel so exposed when we go swimming, _especially at the private beaches, I'm not forgetting about that one time Feli..._ but the lakes are fine! Hai, I like boating on the lake very much," he looked at you when he spoke now, "You know, the lake farther north. It's next to a road, but it isn't traveled as much so few people know about it."

They didn't seem to notice you freeze when you realized what they were talking about, and you just slowly nodded. It was hard to reply when too many thoughts were running through your mind.  
_  
"It was all _your_ fault; this wouldn't have happened if it wasn't because of you"  
A slap to the cheek.  
"...would have made it home fine..."  
A discouraging glance.  
"...He saved them, but at a high price.."  
A pitying look.  
"He was a really fine man..."  
A wavering smile.  
"No, you're _not_ going to see him again..."  
A blank face.  
"...it was my fault, wasn't it..."  
A lone tear.  
"So selfish..."  
A kick to the stomach._

It wasn't until you hadn't yet replied that a bit of worry tinged Kiku's voice, "_... are you okay?"

You were pulled out of the flashbacks and words as your head snapped to Kiku's, feeling a bit out of it, "Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. I just... I'm not a fan of swimming, or lakes especially..." Your voice slowly lowered to a bit more than a whisper and you stared down at your shoes, not wanting to see the confusion or concern or whatever other expression they would have on their faces.

Ludwig opened his mouth to say something as they heard the door slam open and a loud voice shout out, "I'M HOMEEEE!" There was barely enough time for any of you to react; only enough time for Ludwig to slap his face and mutter something about his brother's manners, as the trio fell through the entry of the living room.

You stood up to greet them but your eyes grew wide as Francis quickly waltzed over to you and held your head closely, "Oh my poor cherie! Did they torture you with their silly... uh.. I don't know whatever they would torture you with!" He dramatically flipped his hair and glared at the three.

You heard Feli squeak and you guessed he hid behind Ludwig, since you heard the shuffling of feet and protests from Ludwig at Feli's wimpy behaviour, and you could almost feel Kiku stare confusingly at Francis. But you weren't really sure about all of this, considering that they guy was hugging your face and you couldn't see anything.

"Oh please, Francis, the only one doing anything to her is you, obviously." You felt his arms loosen from around you as two hands pulled you away, Antonio unnecessarily dusted your shoulders off, and he was slightly bent to look at you eye to eye, "See, you're alright huh chica?" He stood straight one more and playfully patted your hair when you didn't reply, and ignored your dazed look; you weren't really processing what was happening. It was all just so sudden and happening so fast, it was a real change to what was going on with the previous conversation about summer and lakes and swimming.

These three really knew how to change the mood of a room.

Japan cleared his voice and when everyone turned to him stated, "Well... I sense that it's time for us to leave now," He bowed lightly towards you, and apprehensively stated, "Hope to speak to you again, _."

With that, Ludwig and Feli took it as their cue to leave the living room and they made their way out. Kiku gave you another look, one of unease, and followed after them.

"Well. That was interesting." Gilbert stated. The room had grown quiet with their leave.  
He clapped his hands and said, "Let's start this thing then, right? All the material's in my room, so..."

He headed towards the stairs, clearly expecting you guys to follow him. You weren't sure what to think at this point, but you knew one thing for sure.

'I'm so glad that we're finally going to get this thing over with...'

-  
_A few hours later_

You guys had worked on the project without much fault, or at least less than what you had expected from some of the most outgoing jokers in the school. Yeah, they had gotten off track and distracted sometimes, and you had somehow got caught in a sudden glitter war, but you had all finished earlier than expected and it had all worked out in the end. The sun was still out and had a bit before it would start setting, which surprised you since you had expected to not finish until later at night.

So all was well and working in your favors, and you all were happy from the mild joking, albeit tired and covered in sparkles.

_"I shine bright like a doitsu~"_ murmured Gilbert as he layered on his German accent and stood directly in the light, making the glitter shine brightly with each movement.

Antonio giggled and Francis shook his head, though a smile grew on his face.  
Your eye brows creased in confusion, "Wait what do you mean..."

"Nothing, nothing," Gilbert said as he walked past you, "Just an inside joke..." He walked out of his room, you guys were done and he stated that he had to go the bathroom. _'It'snot necessary for you tell us that Gilbert, just go.'_

Francis smiled at you, since you were still obviously confused and his sudden leaving wasn't helping, "...he has a blog." Francis stated, as if that would clear everything up.

"Right..." you nodded in false understanding, not bothering to put in the effort to understand what just happened.

Francis and Antonio chattered with one another as they sat on the bed, about girls or something was your guess. You weren't concered with their conversation though, so you walked around the room and checked it out.

His room was in the attic, so the walls were slanted. It wasn't scary or dark as one would suspect an attic to be like; there were many windows that allowed light to fill the large room. And it was surprisingly clean in your opinion, at least neater than your room. You hadn't expected that from him though...

'I barely know them, don't I...' a fleeting thought passed through your mind.

You were going to sit on a large, yellow chick beanbag set against the wall, when something across the room caught your eye... was that...  
You slowly walked up to see a bunch of figurines lined on a shelf above a desk. Your lips curved into a smile as you chuckled, seems like the popular guy was more of a dork than everyone thought...

You reached out to touch a figure of Captain America when you heard a desperate shout from across the room, "No don't touch those!"

You turned to see Gilbert running towards you... guess he was done with the bathroom now. "Sorry, frau! I just, uh, don't want them to get ruined or anything. Not that I don't trust you wouldn't do that! It's just..."

Stopping his onslaught of words you smiled kindly, "I understand, it's okay."

He rubbed a hand on the back of his neck and chuckled nervously, "Yeah..." But he quickly regained his normal aura of overconfidence and pulled you away from his desk towards the other two on the bed.

An overprotective dork then.

They looked up from whatever they were arguing about, "What do you guys want to do now?"

Suddenly feeling a bit uncomfortable, since it was a bit like you were imposing on the threes 'hanging out' time together, you said, "Well... actually I should head home."

But Gilbert tsked and shook his head, "No, stay. We finished early so we should play a game or something."

"No, really, I've got to get home." You weren't going to let them convince you like last time, you had made a close call with your mom before and you didn't want to go through that again. Pushing your luck wasn't what you did, at least not when it came to your mom.  
You were here to finish the project, and that was all.

After a while more of arguing, they realized that you weren't going to budge in your decision this time around. Antonio held his hands up in solemn submittance, "Fine, fine. You can go home then, since you're so very insisting on it."

You gave them a tight smile as you walked downstairs, them following after you. You didn't want to disappoint them, but you had to look over yourself first of all.

Passing by the kitchen once more, you heard the familiar laugh of Feli and peeked your head in once more to tell them all goodbye. They looked up at you as their chatter halted and you gave them a wave, "I'll see you all later, okay?"

In all honestly, you didn't think you'd see them again, but it was the polite thing to do.

They returned your smile and waved back, so you continued on to the door to put your shoes on. It was amazing how kind these people were, it had been a while since you met people this...

"_, may I speak with you before you go?" You looked up as you finished knotting the last shoe and your eyes met with Kiku's.

Suddenly feeling very anxious, you nodded slowly. He had treated you so kindly before, that you didn't want to be impolite and decline him when he simply wanted to talk with you.

Your head cocked to the side questioningly, "What is it, Kiku?"

"Um, I just wanted to ask about-" he was cut off as the trio entered the hallway, "How about we go to a more private area, actually."

You agreed and followed him to a different room, brushing off the trio's questions and telling them Kiku just had to ask you about something and that you'd be quick.

The door shut behind you wish a click as you turned to face him apprehensively. Something obviously seemed to be bothering him, and you hoped it wasn't about what had happened earlier in the living room...

"What's wrong, _, you didn't seem okay when we were speaking earlier. Were you uncomfortable?"

Your hope was crushed and your heart was beating rapidly now, you had hoped that they had forgotten about that, "Um. Yeah, well... I... It's a bit of a long story."  
You weren't sure what to do, to tell or not to tell.

He could see your distress, and if it wasn't clear by your words it was clear by how you fidgeted around, "Please, _. You don't have to tell me..."

Feeling calmer by his words, by the fact that he was giving you a choice, you took a breath, "I haven't really ever... talked to anyone about it. I don't know."

He motioned to a loveseat across the room and you two walked over to sit on it as thoughts ran wildly through your mind, "It's best to let things out, you know." He said after a while of pure silence, his voice ringing silently through the air, "It not good if you keep it bottled up inside, it's not very healthy for you. No one else knows?"

You huffed hesitantly, you barely knew him but you somehow trusted him. His kindness and respect wasn't fake and it was something you hadn't been given in a while. Feeling yourself breaking down a bit and leaning more towards telling him you said, "No. I mean, just my mother and some, er, officials. I-I tried telling my friends," your voiced cracked a bit, "But they couldn't deal with me so I didn't really have someone to talk to."

He paused, thinking through his next words, "I'm here to listen to you if you want," he blushed slightly, feeling a bit uncomfortable with his words, he was the shy type and he wasn't used to be so outright with his words, "I'm your friend, so you can talk with me."

You smiled, even though you could feel your eyes starting to water with the memories, and your voice was a little more than a whisper, "It was so long ago, I was still Elementary school. We were... we were fine then. And she smiled, my mother smiled all the time back then." Your eyes were looking straight ahead, zoned out on the wall as you said whatever came to mind...

You faltered again, "I've never told anyone about this."

He nodded patiently, "I know."

And that was all it took for you to muster enough trust to tell him about what happened. It was as if all of those hurt emotions had been closed tightly in a box that you kept in the back of your head, along with those memories, and he had found a way to pry it open.

Or maybe that you had been holding it in for too long, like a dam holding back a river _or more like an ocean_ and it was finally too much for you handle, and it was overflowing and breaking through now.

"You didn't tell your father?" He suddenly asked, breaking your thoughts. You stared at him, confused, so he quickly explained, "Well, you said that your mother knew but you didn't mention anything about your dad."

Taking a shaky breath your voice was quieter than usual, so that you could keep it under control, "I couldn't tell my dad, because he's the reason for, well, all of this. My dad died, when I was 12." Your eyes flitted to his face to see his reaction, because this was where people tended to gasp loudly, and attack you with questions, or give you hugs and tell you it was going to be okay, when you knew that it was not.

But he didn't do any of this, and you were grateful for that. He didn't abuse you with tons of questions, like your friends or the police had done.

He was just listening to you.

"I... I'll try to start from the beginning."

* * *

A/N:  
**In the next part you guys will find out what happened to your dad! Yay! And about why you mom acts the way she does! Hope you guys dont mind that it's just w/ Japan for now though since that's what how this story goes! Huzzah!**

**But oh gosh guys I'm kinda excited for this story, because I planned it alll out with my sister ((So yeah this is not just me, it's my sister giving me ideas too)) and it's going to be ****kinda**** great c8**

**My sister said that the ending was cruel tho but I was too busy laughing evilly to listen to her**

**But there should be /at least/ ten more parts.**  
**Which is terribly insane of me. **  
**Insane.**


	11. The hero

_Previously, you were accompanied by the axis while waiting for the BTT. When they arrived, you all finally managed to complete the project, and you learned that Gilbert wasn't the stereotypical popular guy. When you all finished, you insisted that you had to leave, but was stopped at the door by a concerned Kiku. Taking you to a room away from prying ears, you're about to tell Kiku about what happened to your father, and finally get all the emotional burdens off your shoulder._

* * *

"I was very laid back, back then. I had many friends, participated well in school, and was an ace in my drama class. I was so happy... we all were happy then. I didn't realize what I had until it was gone," you said solemnly, but continued on, "I was a bit spoiled, I guess, I had all a child could ask for, but I didn't have one thing and it pissed me off like no other. See, my dad worked a lot, he was a well-known detective and worked to solve cases and saved lives, or something like that.

He would wake up early in the morning, and sometimes he would give me a kiss on the forehead before he left, he would think I was asleep but I always managed to be awake for those times since I wanted to cherish every moment with him." Kiku smiled at you, not caring about how you were going off topic. He could tell you were trying to get your thoughts sorted out on how to tell this, and he wasn't going to push you.

"And then he would come late at night, it was rare that he made it home for dinner. He used to always come home in time for dinner, but when I entered the sixth grade it seemed like he was getting busier and busier. He was coming home later and later, sometimes not getting home in time to see me awake. I would stay up as long as my body would allow me, my mother didn't mind because she knew how much I cared and how much I needed to see him, it kinda became a ritual for us to stay up and wait for him.

I was okay with it at first, to stay up and wait, because it was fun. It's always fun to stay up after your bedtime as a child, you know, and I would cuddle with my mom and we would watch movies or eat ice cream. But the excitement eventually wore off; I went to school more tired each day and fell asleep sooner, so I saw him less. Eventually I stopped waiting with my mom. She would stay up, of course, she was a stay at home mom and didn't have to study for tests or do homework or work to keep her eyes open in a class lecture, but I just went to bed.

We got used to it, it became the new schedule around the house, it was normal. I was used to not seeing my family around much anymore, and now that I think about it, it really was hard to go through that. I was truly lucky to have friends back then, because we distracted each other. We had one another and that's all that mattered, we had our dancing practices and competitions coming up, and it took my mind away from what was happening at home.

But I snapped one day.

_"Mom! Mom, guess what!" you ran up to your mom, who was busy in the kitchen making dinner, since your dad was home early in one of those rare occasions, and tugged on her apron._

She politely nodded in silent acknowledgement as you carried on, "You know that competition I said my dance team was going to have soon? You guys said you couldn't come because you didn't have tickets and they costed a lot! Well..." You suddenly turned away from your mom and excitedly ran to the table where your dad sat reading a newspaper, and seeing your approach he raised his eyes to look at you.

Pulling a piece of paper from your jacket pocket, you threw it on the table with exuberance and proudly added, "Well my school gave us one because I'm on the team! So one of you can come and see it!" You stared pointedly at your dad, a slim chance of hope that he would be the one to offer.

He could see your stare and looked up to his wife for some help; he had work that day and probably wouldn't be able to make it. When it fell silent she turned to face you two, seeing you silently plead your father as he silently pleaded at her. She couldn't help but giggle slightly at how silly this family was acting. She sympathized with you, but couldn't help but back up her husband.

"I'd love to see you compete, honey!" She said, wiping her hands on a towel and going to the table to sit next to her husband. They noted you frown in slight disappointment, and your dad added, "I'm sure it'll be great darling, you'll do fine."

But the words intending to encourage you only served to anger you more. Why couldn't you father come? He never came to a competition, he was always so busy. What was so special about his work anyways, that he couldn't spend time with his own kid? Weren't people supposed to put family first? Sure, you knew he had to work all this to make ends meet, to keep you all well fed and dressed well for school. But what was the point if he couldn't even make it to something that meant the world to you?

Your parents had fallen into a casual chatter with one another, and hadn't notice that you were silently fuming, that you were getting angrier by the moment. A hot tear ran down your cheek and your father noticed you, and was instantly concerned, "What is it? What's wrong?"

He stood up to you and reached a hand of comfort but you backed away, eyes red now with tears being held in your eyes, "Why can't you come, daddy? I want you to come! Not mom, mom is always there daddy and I want you!" All your emotions broke down then and there, and you cried out about how it wasn't fair that he was staying later and later into the night. How he didn't care anymore and only liked his work, "You don't love me, you love your work more. I bet you stay late at night just so that you don't have to see me, you only want to see mommy!"

Your parents didn't react angrily at you, they merely stood there; stunned at the sudden outburst of the things you kept bottled up inside."

"I tended to bottle my emotions back then too... hah I thought that was just some stuff I did recently, but it seems like it was a long term quality," you added a bit bitterly.

"After that I got angry, and I stomped out of the kitchen and ran to my room. My parents never checked on me, and if they did then I wouldn't know since I had fallen asleep crying. It's so easy to sleep when you get fatigued in that way. Anyways, I went to school next day, and managed to avoid my mother as I quickly rushed to the bus stop first thing in the morning. It was terrible, waiting for the bus though, since I had rushed and the cold seemed to seep in wherever it could, and I swear the amount I slipped on the ice was ridiculous!

But the day went on and we practiced for the competition after school and we took the bus straight to the competition. There was no time to go home since it was a bit far from the school and we'd barely make it on time as is. Not that I had wanted to go home at the time, I was still unfairly angry at my parents at the time.

Well, we went to the competition, and we beat them all! It was amazing, really amazing that we actually placed in the top three in the competition and were going to make it to finals. We cheered and clapped and laughed, and I watched as all my friends sifted through the crowd to their designated parents. But mine weren't there, neither of them, not even my mother and I didn't understand why that was. It had truly surprised me, but it wasn't long until an announcement called me down to the office.

I assumed that my mom was tired of looking for me, or something, and had gone to the office to call me down. At least, that what I told myself, even when I felt a knot tie in my stomach. Something had felt off to me.

I was met with the faces of a couple of police officers, instead of my mother, and I had never felt as confused in my life. They told me I had to go with them that my father had gotten in a terrible accident, highly due to the weather. I hadn't noticed how chilling the air was that day, I felt numb to it when I heard their words. I had gone into shock, I guess, my little mind couldn't process what had happened and when they noticed that I wasn't responding, they stopped explaining what had happened.

I hadn't learned what accident had happened until after I had been taken to the hospital."

_I stared blankly out the window, as the car bounced and jolted lightly, the car speeding past the usual traffic of the day using the power of authority. The siren made cars part quickly and left a clear way to the hospital._

They quickly parked next to the door and you ran out, following one of the policemen who seemed to be going in to look for your father. It felt like you were watching all of this from far away, this wasn't happening, it was like watching one of those drama's your mother loved to watch on Friday nights.

Soon, you had been led to sit outside a room; one which you discovered was where your father was staying in. The quiet in the lobby betrayed what was actually occurring in the room though, and you could clearly hear the muffled shouts from inside as the doctor shouted his orders to the nurses.  
And that's when it hit you. Your father. Your father had gotten in an accident, and a terrible one, it seems. One where he had to be hospitalized. Shutting your eyes tightly, you pulled your knees close to your chest and sobbed into your knees. This was too much to handle for you. Then there was your mother. You weren't sure when she had arrived, but it didn't seem like she had noticed you yet either, since she was pacing frantically in front of the door after a nurse had shown her the room her husband was in.

A small sniffle escaped you as you looked at her, and you calmed down a bit. Even if you hadn't ever seen her this frantic in your life, it still made you feel better to have family around.

Reaching a hand out, you lightly touched her arm as she walked by again, and she halted. Seeming to have noticed you for the first time, she surprised you by frowning deeply. She tightly grabbed your arm and pulled you out of the chair, "I've got to speak with you." She said, almost maliciously, but you weren't sure if your mother was capable of ever being malicious, and you followed her as she led you to a private area. 

"And imagine my surprise when she pushed me against the wall, away from her with disgust, and told me that it was my entire fault?" You watched Kiku's eyebrows rise slightly in surprise at this, since she had sounded like a fine character up until that point.

"That's when she explained everything that had happened."

_"You're the most ungrateful child I've met," she spat, as anger quickly took over her despair, "If it wasn't for you, _none_ of this would have happened."_

You just sat, dazed, on the ground as you looked up to your mother. What happened was unexpected at the very least, "What do you mean it's my fault, I didn't do anything-"

"Of course you did something, you did everything! I was supposed to go to your competition, not him! Why couldn't you accept that?"

She fell into long bout of silence, as you broke it by asking, "Mom, what happened?"

"He was working longer hours so he could spend more time over the summer with you, you know," She suddenly added in a monotone, and you felt guilt seep in. He had been working harder for you? But you hadn't known, why didn't they tell you, why didn't they explain?

As if able to read your mind, she continued explaining, "He said that he wanted you to be surprised, that it would be more exciting for you to suddenly learn that he could spend all his time with you, with us, over the long awaited break. But no, you just had to be greedy and think only of yourself. You made him realize_ that he hadn't been paying attention to you; that it was doing more damage than what he had expected._

Were you asleep when he came into your room, later that night after a long chat with me about this, to whisper to you about how he was going to be one to take the ticket and make it to your competition? That he was going to ignore all the work he had for the next day and use it to visit you instead? He insisted on this even after the radio had told about the below zero temperature, and even grabbed another jacket for you, just in case!"

You were frozen, hypnotized as your mother told the story, "Do you know what happened? What accident did he get in, did he crash into a large truck or something?"

She nodded her head, "Yes, I was sitting next to him in the passenger seat, actually, because I was going to drop him off, and then go around and run some errands while we were in that area."

That was confusing, how was she in the passenger seat if she now was alright and clearly in better condition than her father. Shouldn't she have at least experienced some type of damage to her body if she was in the same car though? How could this accident somehow only hurt her dad, and avoid her mom? She noticed that you were puzzled and realized what you thought and answered with a sarcastic sigh, "No, _, it wasn't a car accident-"

"Then what was it!" You pouted, tired of your mom beating around the bush.

"Well maybe if you'd stop interrupting me, then I'd be able to tell you!" She shouted back angrily. You forced yourself to not speak up so she'd continue on, though you wondered if you were mostly silent in shock at the fact your mom was screaming at you, which was far from the normal her you knew.

You took a deep breath, you hadn't explained all the details, but you had told enough for him to understand you, and so you carried on; mimicking almost the exact words your mother had used to first tell you the story, "She was sitting next to my dad, in the passenger seat, and he was driving. It wasn't snowing or anything, but it was terribly freezing outside. I say that, because they were driving by the lake... the one you were talking about, on the road less traveled by others since that was the quickest way to my competition.

Well, while they were driving, my dad noticed this kid on the side of the road waving his arms frantically, trying to get someone's attention. My dad being the person he is, naturally pulled to the side to see what was wrong with the kid. My mom says she can't remember what exactly was said, but the kid basically said that he and his friends had been playing on the lake, I say on because it had been frozen solid into ice by the cold, or at least that's what they had thought. The kid explained that they were playing around on the ice when it had broken under the pressure and he was the only one who managed to escape. The kid was sobbing a lot too, by the sound of it; I'm not surprised that he was panicking at the idea of his friends drowning in the icy lake.

So my dad told the kid to lead the way and followed after him, taking off his jacket as he went. Apparently the kid looked around my age, so my dad was even more eager to help, knowing what it would be like for the parents if any of the children died.

The last thing my mom saw was him walking away, he had told her to stay put, when after a minute or two, some kids came running up the slope again to my mom, some of them drenched in water and shivering. She could tell something was off with their terrified faces, and fact that my dad wasn't trailing after them or holding them to warm them or something of the sort. That's when they told her that he husband was in danger, that he got caught under the ice of the lake.

Then, you know, she calls the police, ambulance comes, they retrieve him from the water, and that's basically where she left off with her story. It wasn't until a little later on that a policeman had approached us to explain exactly what happened," You quickly glanced at Kiku's face to make sure he wasn't asleep or something, since he was being awfully quiet and you felt like you had been going on for hours, "He explained that the temperature was so low that day that he had to break a new hole in the ice, about where the kid had pointed out since the water had lightly frozen over again.

He had then dived down into the water to find them of course, and it's amazing he was able to get them, considering the darkness under there. He held the two kids under his arms and swiftly kicked to get some air because even he was starting to feel the lack of oxygen, but he was met with ice again. Of course, he hadn't swam to the exact spot he made the first hole, that's apparently very unlikely, so he knew he had to make a new one.

He pulled a pocket knife from his pocket, probably in slow motion considering what water does to you, and probably banged the knife part against the ice until the hole was large enough for the two kids to slip through. He hoisted them through there, but wasn't able to get the hole big enough for him. It's easier to fall into a hole than to pull yourself out of one, so he stuck his nose out to try and get some air, but more splashing water from his movements to stay at the surface came in than air.

The policeman told us that was when the kids ran to my mom and had the authorities called, and that was when they had come to pick him up. He was found with extreme hypothermia, his heart was beating slowly, and his breathing was shallow. They were surprised that he had fought so hard to stay near the top of the water like that, it certainly made finding him easier,"

You shrugged and inhaled shakily, "After that, my dad fell into a coma, and eventually his heart stopped. But it didn't stop there, the incident absolutely tore my mother apart, it was like she died the day he did. She wasn't the same ever again... and her personality became almost practically the opposite of that which it was.

By elementary graduation my friends all knew the story of what had happened to my dad, but as I progressed through junior high, dealing with my mom at home got more difficult," you didn't want to mention that she had started to abuse you, blaming you for what had happened even though it wasn't entirely your fault... _right?_

"And my so-called friends got more interested in boys and make up than me; they were too engulfed in their social lives to 'put up with my dramatics'. Eventually, I dropped out of the dance team, thus simultaneously dropping out of their life. I used to be so talkative and outgoing, I think, but now barely anyone speaks to me and I get bullied around.

I'm shy and I don't trust anyone anymore. Ever. I gave up the silly idea of 'trust' when my friends showed me exactly what trusting others led to. I don't talk anymore, and it feels so normal, but I remember being called 'chatty' and 'hyperactive' as a child. I don't know, I'm not even sure anymore because it was so long ago, it feels so unreal. I'm going to graduate and I'm still not able to get over it. I don't know who I am anymore, if I'm supposed to be outgoing or if I'm supposed to be quiet!"

Heck, you were more confused now than ever. You were the silent one who ate lunch alone, who didn't pay attention to others and thus got no attention back; but you remembered just how much fun you had with the trio at the party before, it almost felt nostalgic, and now you kind of understood why.

After a moment of silence you concluded silently with, "The only good that came of that was that those kids survived; they were the last people he saved. They were the last ones to see him and speak with him, and better fucking appreciate what he had done; they had better be living their lives to the fullest."

Tears ran freely down your face silently, but Kiku hadn't noticed them since his gaze was concentrated on the ground, not wanting to make you feel uncomfortable with a direct stare. Sensing that you were finished he smiled sympathetically at you, and saw you crying. He was feeling a bit uncomfortable with so much raw emotion being shown to him, but he felt flattered that you were doing this even when you had just stated that you had lost trust in others.

He cleared his throat as he knew what he had to do now, "I know, _, it's not something I would normally do, but it's what I would need if I was in this situation too."

You blinked at the tears, trying to clear them so you could see him clearly, you weren't sure what he was talking about but you felt more exposed and embarrassed now. It was great to get all that off your shoulder, but there was also that terrible feeling that he knew all of that you couldn't shake away, you sniffled as you asked, "What are you talking about-"

But were cut off as he reached over to give you a hug.

_'So that's what he meant by "it's not something I would normally do"'_

You waited for the words of encouragement everyone seemed to give in situations like this, but none came; he simply hugged you in silence. He felt you give a shuddery breath and squeezed you tighter, not in a death grip way, but in a way that told you that he was here for you. You weren't sure why, but it made you break down, more so than any other words had. You dug your face into his shoulder and cried for the hardest you had in a long while.

A hug really was all that you needed; no false words of hope or anything. Just to know that someone was there meant the world to you.

After who knows how long sitting there like that, you pulled away and wiped at your face, mumbling, "I-It meant a lot to me, for you to listen to what I had to say." you gave him a weak smile that he eagerly returned.

"What else are friends for, _?" His smile died down a bit as he added, "I know you must have heard this a lot, but I'm sorry that your father died, he sounds like he was a great man."

You nodded, expecting at least this from him, after all it would have been considered rude if he hadn't said anything at all, "It's okay. Thanks for hearing me out," aburuptly looking up at him anxiously you added, "just please don't tell the other guys, please keep it between us. I don't want to burden or have them look at me differently or something."

He looked hesitant, but agreed after a while of more of your pleading, "Hai, I won't tell anyone unless I come under circumstances where I need to, okay?"

You nodded in agreement, just as the muffled shouts of the trio rang through, "I guess that took longer than expected, huh?" You chuckled lightly as you composed yourself, "Better get going now." You stood up and started for the door, but as you were about to close the door behind you to leave, Kiku stopped you.

"And thank you, _, for trusting me enough to talk with me. I hope you feel less of a burden on your shoulders now, it was a heavy one for such a little you to carry," He smiled once more and headed back to rejoin his other friends.

"You're a great friend, Kiku," You said loudly enough for only his ears to pick up, and he nodded modestly as a reply.

* * *

**A/N:**

_****__See, I promised that I'd get this next part done and finished by today. c:  
/twitches  
__I hope there's no mistakes or something, i didn't read over it otl___

But there ya go, the story of what happened with your dad and such, sorry that it's lacking in Hetalians. ;o; But please do tell me what you thought about it?

But isn't Kiku such a sweetheart I just agjhaslkjg is this even a btt story cause it feels like a everyone x reader story, honestly. Don't get the wrong vibes from him though, he's just lending a helping hand for a friend in need. c;

_  
Feel free to suggest things that you'd like to see in the story, and I'll see if I can add them if it doesn't affect the plot._


	12. Newfound Friends

_Previously, you tell Kiku about your past, and how your father died while saving some kids from a freezing lake, leaving you and your mom very shaken and very much not over it, even year later.  
But now it's time for the trio to give you a ride home._  
Go home reader  
you are drunk go home

* * *

You felt like a load had been lifted off your shoulder, which surprised you in a way that you hadn't expected. The times you had recited this story to others, like friends or 'worried' adults, you had felt even more anxious, even more concerned about what they were going to think. But right now... right now you felt like your emotions were lighter than ever. It was difficult to explain.

You shakily approached the trio, who were sitting cross-legged near the door having a silent conversation with one another as they waited for you.

"There she is!"  
"What took you so long?"  
"That wasn't a moment at all!"

They chattered lively at your return as they stood up, and you apologized for taking too long, "I got distracted a bit, sorry guys." Shuffling from foot to foot, and motioning at the door, "I guess I'll be on my way now."

Your hand was slapped playfully away as it reached to the doorknob though, and you watched Francis lean on it as the other two slid next to him. 'An effective way of completely blocking off the exit,' you thought sarcastically. "Guys... um, I said I had to go already."

"But you're going to need a ride home, no?" Antonio said with a smirk.

"Yeah, I didn't see any cars parked out there that could be yours," Gilbert chimed in.

"And I see you don't have your scooter either," teased Francis. The guys were clearly entertained as you silently tried to think up an excuse to get them to move out of your way.

"Why does it matter, if I found my way here, I'll find my way back!" you then added playfully, "Besides, there's no need for you guys to bother with me, please, just stay here and enjoy yourselves! Play a game! Relax, schools almost over and we're done with the project."

They didn't find you as amusing though, and Gilbert's eyebrows creased suddenly, "Wait a second. How _did_ you find your way here in the first place? I didn't give you my address either, I think, so I don't see how..."

The other two realized this and started nodding at the question. The Beilschmidt's house was hard enough finding when you knew the address, nevertheless trying to find it on your own.

You frowned when you remembered what happened, "Which reminds me, you three left me completely stranded on my own there! I was going crazy trying to find you guys, it's like you guys were teleported the moment the bell rang!"

Gilbert slightly winced at your small outburst, which he thought you had complete right to. All three of them had completely forgotten about the project, and wouldn't have remembered at all had Ludwig not given his brother a call. Their minds had been concentrated on relaxing and getting ready for summer and college, which they had somewhat big plans for the both.

"But that still doesn't explain how you got here," questioned Francis, who was not understanding how you managed to find the house in the first place.

"And you even arrived before us!" added Antonio. How you had been able to beat them to the house was beyond him.

'What is this, some sort of interrogational day?' it felt like people were getting a little too comfortable with you today, what with all the questions they aimed at you, it was almost making you anxious, like there was a sense of inevitable foreboding.

Shifting from foot to foot you said, "I got a ride, from a student who knew where you lived."

They gave you odd gazes and you started feeling antsy to leave, even though you weren't sure how you'd find your way home.

'I'll manage,' you told yourself with renewed confidence, 'it's still pretty early so I'd have enough time to find home before dark! Maybe.'

Gilbert raised an eyebrow and asked, "Oh really, what student?"

An amused chuckle filled the room, "Ohoho, seems like you have a stalker or two _Gilbert._"

"You say that as if you're surprised, Francis!" Antonio said, his eyes smiling.

"Al," you interrupted. If you were going to get home you had to get on your way _now_.

Their playful banter brought to a complete halt; they looked at one another warily in silence before turning to you.

Chuckling nervously Francis asked the question on all three of the boy's minds, "You mean Alfred, non? The one who was at the party?" The other two nodded along hopefully, trying to convince themselves that it wasn't who they thought you were addressing.

You pulled a face and shook your head slowly at their reaction, "No, not at all. I meant Al. Well, I mean, his name is Alfred but he insists on being called Al." Remembering the kind person who helped you out at the party you added, "Yeah, definitely not the one at the party."

You mixed the three's concerned gaze for one of confusion, "You know, Al is a darker cherry brown color? Wears sunglasses a lot lately? He-"

"Yes, yes we know about him, chica," added Antonio, the three of them in deep thought of how you managed to meet the guy in the first place. You weren't the outgoing type, so it surprised them that you had gotten a ride specifically from _him_. He didn't seem the type to give rides out willingly either, and they started to wonder how you had somehow... _befriend_ the guy.

"That's creepy," Gilbert suddenly muttered and everyone looked over to him inquiringly, "I mean, that he knows where I live. He's in the same neighborhood, so I guess that explains it."

He shrugged indifferently, "Still, I don't go around memorizing people's houses, but maybe that's just me."

"Why did he offer a ride in the first place? And why did you get in the car? He's not the type to get mixed with _," Francis had finally processed what you had said and had recovered from his slight shock. Clasping a hand on your shoulder he quickly said, "Believe me, he's bad news! I'm surprised you don't know about it because it's all over the school how have you not heard about all of the rumors!"

He stopped his blathering as he awkwardly realized that the reason you hadn't heard about it was, well, that no one really spoke with you, for reasons unknown to him.

He pulled back and you replied with, "Hey, don't be rude! Rumors aren't always true, and I know that from firsthand experience," feeling a bit angered that they had gone to make assumptions about someone they barely knew, you defended him, "He's my friend, my _only_ friend; and that is something I haven't had in a long while. So don't just make things up about him as if you knew him, because he is nothing that you are telling me about. Do not make stories up if you hardly even know the guy."

You noticed that your hands had clenched and you relaxed them.

"Your only friend?" Antonio asked after a small bout of silence.

Eyes widening somewhat as you realized that you had let that out a bit involuntarily in your small rant. Did you really believe that? Was he honestly your only friend? He had said so, so that's what you had assumed, but if he was a friend, then what were these three? The three standing before you had spent much more time with you than Al had, and you felt as comfortable around them as you were around him, if not a bit more. But what drew the line between friends and just people you had to get together with for school purposes.

Still, you knew what you said had been rude. It wasn't like you had meant for that to slip out, you barely knew if it was true yourself. And with what had happened in the past, you knew better than to just assume that everyone you talked with a couple of times were friends. You had decided that others weren't friends with you until they proved it one way or another; by either telling you out straight like Al had, or by proving it in more subtle ways.

The subtle ways were harder to pick up on though, and you weren't sure if the trio had been leaving you hints or not. Social things weren't your forte, especially not as much as it was for the bad touch trio.

After a bit of stuttering, you were able to say, "Well, at least that's what I think... I-uh, don't really make friends often lately so I'm not sure anymore and..." you drifted off in thought.

Everything seemed to click for them then, that it wasn't that you didn't like them; you just weren't sure what your relationship with them was.

"We're obviously friends, frau," Gilbert scoffed suddenly, "Don't be silly, it's just absurd that I'd let you into my own room without being one."

Your eyes shot up to meet his, and you smiled widely at his words; it honestly made you happy to hear this, that you weren't a bother or just an acquaintance to these three, that you were actually /i friends/i. It was one of the best feelings in the world to make new friends, to have people to rely on, and life was being pretty vicious at shoving those facts in your face today.

Three smiles met yours. They knew that it took a lot of trust to do something like this, which was probably why most don't outright ask to be friends like they used to in the elementary school days. Friends were made by silent promises now, ones that could easily broken with the thought in mind that it was never made it official so it was somehow alright.

But now that it was done and said, the silent pact was now a signed treaty. It made you happy to hear the thoughts put into words, because it made it official. You were friends with the three, and it sent a happy pang through you heart, something that hadn't occurred when Kiku had offered you his trust.

This was... somehow different.

Francis suddenly glided towards you to pick you up into a warm hug, twirling you around a bit in the narrow hallway. He was met with everyones questioning gaze when he set you down though, and with arms still around you said, "What?"

"What do you think you're doing now you sneaky little-" asked Gilbert as he started towards you two.

Francis started to back away a bit as Antonio joined Gilbert in their stalk towards you both, "Well I do this with all my friends, non?"

They gave him dry expressions and Antonio playfully pouted, "A-Am I not a friend, Francis?" He closed his eyes and dramatically batted them at Francis, "I thought we had something between us, amigo..."

"Oh, is this your way of using subtle hints to admit your undying love to yours truly?" Francis countered back, his hold relaxing as he concentrated more on the banter, taking a hand to be theatrically placed at his chest.

You giggled at their silliness, but almost broke out in a fit of laughter when you saw Gilbert craftily making his way towards you. Slipping out from under Francis's arm, you went over to give Gilbert a hug and pulled Antonio in as well, effectively cutting him off from whatever reply he was about to shoot back to his friend.

"Thanks guys," was all you murmured, but it certainly held more meaning than what would be thought possible for two little words.

Francis gave a dramatic cry, "So you'd rather hug them, I knew it!" You were going protest that he had already hugged you when he came forth from the last side of the group hug to join in, "Too bad you have no choice!" He added, a bit darkly.

"Will you guys leave already, gotverdammt!?" Ludwig's voice had echoed from whatever room they were in, and you all had realized that quite a few minutes had been wasted just waiting at the door.

They all pulled away at the sudden shout and Antonio went to open the door. You looked puzzled as he and Francis started to leave and Gilbert explained, "We're taking you home _, don't be ridiculous. If Al brought you here then you certainly aren't going to be able to find your way home."

And without another word, you were pushed out the door in front of him, as he stuck his head back inside to teasingly yell to his brother, "Sorry for interrupting whatever you and Feli were doing!"

He chuckled and slammed the door shut, running down the porch and pulling you quickly along to his car, with good reason considering how loud Ludwig's furious shouts were now.

-

After a drive full of many turns and constant directions given, you had finally managed to steer Gilbert to your house; and now everyone was currently standing outside of your apartment door waiting impatiently for you to open it. You were certainly hoping that they wouldn't ask to come inside or something as ridiculous as that, even if you knew that your mom wasn't going to be home until late and the sun was barely setting over the horizon.

Opening the door and slipping through the door, you shut it enough to barely show your face. Smiling awkwardly you said, "Uh, thanks for driving me home Gilbert. And it was nice working with you Francis, Antonio."

They stared at you with faces that clearly were pleading for you to let them inside, and it was when you quickly shut the door that they had started to protest.

"Oh don't be a party pooper, let us in!"  
"We let you into our homes so let us see yours!"  
"It's okay if it's small and not as big as mein awesome house; I think small things are cute."  
"Ohonhonhon."  
"Shut up Francis."

They had grown silent and you assumed they had left. You sighed and leaned back on the door, more exhausted than ever. It had been pretty hectic today, at least for you, since you hadn't had that much to do ever since...

'It was pretty rude of me to have left them like that,' you distracted yourself to the consequence at hand, 'I guess I could have at least let them in for a drink, they had invited me to their own homes so...'

Hand wavering on the doorknob, your mind switched back and forth on which decision to take. For all you knew, they had already left; and it wasn't helping that you were taking a while to decide.

'They had said that we were friends now,' with sudden renewed confidence you latched onto the knob and started to open the door, 'And friends don't just leave other friends alone.'

You weren't sure whether you were surprised or not that they were still standing there, and decided that you were slightly creeped. From the past few days you had known them, you could tell that they were the outgoing, self-dependent type, but even you hadn't expected this.

"What are you guys doing?" You asked blandly as you held the door with one hand, ready to close it in case your confidence faltered.

"Waiting for you to invite us in," Antonio replied matter-of-factly.

You had to admire their spunk; else you get angry at how haughty they were acting. Just waiting there knowing that you would eventually let them in. The thought that they seemed to know you more than you knew them was a new feeling. Why else would they have known to just wait for a while, that you seemed to have difficulties with making up your mind; especially when it came to choices that had to do with others?

But they immediately reacted when you raised your eyebrow in an 'are you kidding me?' way.

Antonio dropped to his knees and started to plead you to at least let him in, "Please _, I promise I won't eat all your food or something, like if you let Gilbert in!"

Gilbert scowled at Antonio and stood closer to you than he, not on his knees, but arms still brought together in a pleading motion, "I won't eat anything, and I won't mess anything up either! I'll even stand if you don't want me to ruin your couch! Or floor!" He laughed his conceited laugh and added, "Hah, my deal is so much more awesome than yours Antonio; I can almost see the awesome gleam in her awesome eyes that are screaming about how much she wants to invite only me in!"

"Oh please Gilbert, don't be vain. She doesn't want to have to hear you going on about something dull, just look at her!" He waved over to you and approached you, standing closer to the door than Gilbert was now, "She's so exhausted I think she's going to have nightmares of your voice." He wiggled his fingers in the air, mocking his friend's voice by whispering, "Awesome hair awesome chair awesome wow is zhat really a ceiling?"

They continued bickering and you rolled your eyes at them. Was this some type of habit among them, to squabble among one another?

Definitely.

Being around them for only a few days, you had already lost track of the times they got into these little quarrels.

"Hey, um, guys? You can come in for a while; my mom's not supposed to be home in a while, so you can stay," they stopped fighting and smirked triumphantly at one another, but as they approached the door you quickly stopped them by holding up your hands, "But _only_ for a quick drink. My, erm, parents aren't very fond of me having other people over."

"Even if they're just some friends?" asked Antonio innocently, as you stepped aside to let them file in.

"Especially if they're boys," You pointed out, knowing that your mom had made clear to not let anyone into the house in case she came home in one of her drunken spells.

"Just a little overprotective, non?" inquired Francis.

"To say the least," you murmured. When you had locked the door behind you, you moved past them towards the conjoined kitchen and living room area, "This way."

-

After you had gotten them something to drink, which to their disappointment wasn't some sort of energy drink or caffeine, you all had sat down to lounge about the living room.

Taking a final sip of the juice box, Gilbert decided to start a conversation to break through the silence, and it seemed to him like the easiest thing to talk about with a fellow student was, well, school.

"So, what's your plan after you graduate this year?" He asked, his question obviously directed at you. He and his friends had already discussed what their plans were to be; they were more than excited for the end of high school, so they were very much listening to what you had to say, and very eager to participate in this topic.

As for you, you hadn't given it much thought. You didn't have the grades to get scholarships for college and it wasn't something your mother could help you pay for either; but that didn't bother you. Telling them that, you further explained, "I'll definitely be moving out though, and I'll just work at a café or something similar for the time being to get enough to pay for rent." You waved a hand that motioned to the house, "We're obviously not the richest so my parents won't be able to help out, but I should be able to manage getting a small place for myself until I get a better occupation."

Shyly, since you weren't used to telling others about your dreams and goals, you added, "I'd like to be an artist, or maybe a writer or photographer. It's well-known that it's hard to get work in those things, though, so it's unlikely - but I'd still like to try!"

They nodded feverishly at your enthusiasm, glad to see that even if it was a tough goal, that you weren't giving up.

You shot them the question back, and you were glad to see that they were giving you their full attention to what you had to say, "What about you three? Any big plans for the future?"

They all nodded at once and started to excitedly tell of their plans at the same time, but realizing that you didn't pick up a word of what they said, they took turns explaining.

"Well we are, actually, going to college."

"Not that your choice isn't good too! Because it works for you, it's just we have been working hard enough in class to get into college-"

"See, we want to get into business and make some big company with one another!" Antonio enthusiastically threw up his arms in the air.

You smiled, honestly happy for them, "That sounds great! I wish you guys luck with that, it isn't going to be easy – then again my idea isn't either so who am I to talk."

"But that's not even the best part!"

"Yeah, until then, we're going to move out and rent an apartment together!"

They exchanged excited high-fives, and their enthusiasm made a lot more sense now. But you weren't sure about what that meant for whatever college they were going to go to, since they were more than likely to wreak havoc on whatever dorms they stayed at. You mentally sent your prayers to wherever they would stay at.

_Time skip_

After a while of chattering about futures and other random topics, as well as a few emptied out juice bottles expertly hidden in the trash so your mom wouldn't question you sudden appetite for juice, you had decided that it was probably time for them to leave. Even if your mother wasn't expected for another hour or two, it was better safe than sorry in your opinion; at least in this case.

Clapping your hands together as they got ready to leave at the door, you said, "Thanks for coming over guys. And for the ride home. And for actually being able to complete the project on time."

'Because honestly I was starting to question whether we'd be able to complete it on time or not...' you thought to yourself.

They shrugged you off, insisting that it was no problem.

Finished putting on your shoes, they stood up and faced you for one final goodbye-

Francis pulled you into a friendly hug, and then you were hugged by Antonio, and last of all Gilbert.

A loud clang suddenly indicated through the silent hallway, making you all startle. Hoping that what you thought it was was just a lie, you hesitantly looked up to the source of the noise...

Only to be met with the surprised gaze of your mother, who had managed to open the door without any of you noticing, standing at the door with some dropped cans of groceries on the floor and a shocked expression on her face.

* * *

**A/n:**  
_And as for the many guesses that everyone has been making about who the kids your dad saved were..._

_Who knows, it could have been the infamous bad touch trio themselves, or the 2P! trio__c; I did say that they were going to be in the story more so...__, or the axis as well, and for some reason or another Japan had forgotten about it and won't remember until later in some intense flashback thing. _

_Or maybe who they are isn't really important and it's just the baltic trio. Who knows? Well, only me of course. _

_c8 _

**_*laughs maniacally as I make you go insane with all the possiblities*_**

Feel free to suggest things that you'd like to see in the story, and I'll see if I can add them if it doesn't affect the plot.


	13. Home, sweet home

_Previously, you had been driven home by the Bad Touch Trio; and after a bit of thought, decided to invite your newfound friends into your house for a while. The sun was barely setting, so you figured you could spare a few minutes with them, so you wouldn't be labeled as impolite. Though it turned out you weren't as lucky as before, and your mother came home early and caught the Trio at the door as they were preparing to leave. What is she going to do now?_

* * *

**BTT Point of View ****_I guess_**

Gilbert stumbled back as he was lightly pushed away by you. For once he wasn't offended, in comparison with other times he was cut off from a hug by a girl; because this time he was concentrated on this new distraction that had appeared at the door.

Looks were shared between the three of them, not sure what to do and feeling a bit awkward with everyone just standing there. The atmosphere of the room suddenly made them feel uneasy, and a type of unseen tension was felt between _ and the person standing at the door.

"Mom!" _ said, her voice in an unusually falsetto tone, "You're early..." She coughed lightly and wore a smile on her face, though her anxiousness shown through more than what she had hoped for; but the trio was used to seeing her being nervous, so they thought nothing of it.

Antonio swore he thought he saw a flash of irritation on the mothers face; but before he could confirm his suspicions, she grinned widely and stated in a singsong voice, "Of course I'm early, I worked extra hard today, so my boss let me off earlier than normal." As if she had just noticed them, she turned to look at the boys and ask, "Now, who are these fine men?"

None of the trio noticed your expression slowly twist into horrified confusion; all they noticed was the sweet mother standing at the door, they never had heard a voice that sounded quite so _motherly._

Snapping out of their trance, Francis instantly turned on his charm, "Oh, you flatter us! But no, we're just some friends of _, she told you about the project we were working on today, non?"

"No." Her mom stated in a happy voice, _a tone that sent shivers down your spine_, "She had said that she had to work on a project. But she never mentioned anything about friends, and she hadn't mentioned that she was going to have them over at our house today."

Antonio frowned lightly; he hoped that they weren't interrupting something, "Oh! We're so sorry! We weren't planning on staying over," Gilbert coughed awkwardly, looking very awkward as he shuffled from foot to foot; "I hope we didn't ruin any plans for you."

Francis and Gilbert caught on to Antonio, realizing that they could have been imposing on some family time. They started to apologize as well, words stumbling over one another accompanied with wild hand gestures and tone full of regret; as if they had done something wrong.

_You knew it shouldn't have bothered you, based on what they thought the situation was; but you couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed when they apologized, it almost felt like they hadn't enjoyed being around you._

"No no no, it's alright. I completely understand," your mother stated simply, taking another step into the house. Doing so, she accidentally hit a can, causing it to roll across the floor and brought at an abrupt halt by hitting Gilberts shoe.

The groceries lying on the floor had been long forgotten until now.

Snapping into action the trio fell to the floor with smiles and apologies and fleeting hands that quickly grabbed at the items.

They were too preoccupied that they didn't notice your mother send you a silent glare empty of emotion, yet promised that what was to come wasn't going to be as filled with smiles and apologies nor fleeting hands that helped instead of hurt.

Consumed in their own thoughts, the trio shared glances,  
'Talk about a first impression.'  
'I hope she doesn't think we were doing anything sketchy... I mean she caught me hugging her daughter...'  
'But she'll totally fall in love with us once she sees how much of a help we are!'

They rushed the groceries to the kitchen and came back empty handed. You were now standing by your mother, smiling the same as your mother and they were glad to see that you had a good relation with your mother; assuming the tension in the room was because of their not supposing to be here. _Which was completely right, just much more dire than they thought_

"Well then..." Antonio started, breaking through the silence. He figured just leaving would be terribly awkward, so they waited for either of the two ladies to motion for them to leave.

They didn't have to wait long.

Ushered to the door, the three were gently, yet firmly pushed to the open door, "Well no need to dawdle now, I'm sure your parents are worried sick about you!"

Seeing their eyebrows crease as they now stood just outside the door, "I know I would be."

With a sweet smile and a nod, the door was slammed into the faces of the three standing in slight disbelief.

-

Not a moment more was wasted before your mother turned to you, and you wondered what had happened to the sweet woman that had stood there just moments before.

_You tried not to think about how it reminded you of the good days._

"Disobeying me again?" You stumbled backwards as she quickly approached you.

You shook your head furiously, "No! I mean, I said we were working on a project- and we did! Really! But we finished early and I thought-"

"_Finished early_," your mother mocked, "_Sure you did,_ and then they decided to drop by for a cuppa tea?"

Panic was threatening to take you over, it had been a while since your mother had been_this_ angry; her body language nearly screamed at your to run away, to take cover, to hide, but it was all you could do to just stand there and take this, nevertheless hide.  
_  
You didn't have anywhere to hide anyways._

She would have caught you still, and reminded you again that there was nowhere else for you to go and nothing else for you to do without her-

_A crack echoed through the air_ and you were brought out of your thoughts and your cheek burned from the slap.

She looked down on you as she stood up straight, _when had you fallen to the floor?_, continuing with her verbal abuse; things that you had been told over and over and _over_again, yet still hurt as if they were terms being told to new ears.

"Lying to me again?"  
"Friends? Is that what they are to you?"  
"You saw what happened the last time that happened."  
"The last time you placed trust in others. Remember?"  
"They left and it's only a matter of time for these three to as well."  
"You'll be alone and hurt again."

The words were as much for you as they were for her, to the point where you wondered whether she was speaking to herself or if she was still criticizing you but it didn't matter either way and it echoed through you with a renewed vigor

"Can't you see my dear? It's better for everyone if you just

don't  
Fall  
In love."

_And the worst part was that you _believed_ her._

_Back to the BTT_

Trees and houses passed by in quick flashes as they drove away from your house, Antonio resting against the window as he looked at the blurred scenery passing by: green grass blurring into the white of a house and back again.

They were silent as Gilbert sat at the wheel, thinking over what had just happened.

They felt regret, they supposed.

Not regret from meeting you, or getting to know you. Not from inviting you to the party. Not regret from befriending you in that almost split moment. They felt regret from leaving you there.

They didn't know why, they just did.

"It feels like we weren't supposed to just leave like that," Francis muttered, "Non? Or is it just me?"

Antonio hummed in agreement and Gilbert nodded, "It felt... _tense_ in there. I dunno, there was just some sort of tension and it felt weird being there suddenly."

"But wasn't it because we were there without permission? Her mom did say that she didn't expect us there, and we made it better by picking up the groceries... didn't we?" Antonio was mumbling, rethinking what happened.

"Actually now that I think about it, she never mentioned anything about having something to do with her mom. She never stopped us when she could have simply told us that we weren't welcome for the day." Francis side glanced at his friends, "Why is that?"

...

The brakes squealed as Gilbert violently pulled the car to side of the road, at an abrupt halt.

Antonio composed himself and turned to glare at his friend, "What do you think you're doing, huh?"  
Francis laughed, exhilarated despite the fact that he had been thrown against the passenger seat in front of him.

"Just a second, guys, don't we- doesn't her mom seem... familiar?" Gilbert waiting for his friends to catch on, staring at them expectantly, but when they didn't respond he added, "Don't tell me you've forgotten the one time we managed to sneak into a bar?"

And the figurative lights turned on in their minds: their eyes widening as the memory resurfaced.

"Yeah! When we wanted to see what it was like in one, and we totally broke in!" Francis nodded and clapped his hands together, remembering the day.

"And we got kicked out because this lady... Oh my gosh, that lady-"Antonio's eyes widened, "It was her: _'s mom was that lady."

Gilbert barked out a short laugh, "I thought she looked familiar!"

They sat silently for a moment, the information sinking in.

"Wasn't she rude?" Francis's voice barely carried to his friends. And they nodded. _Rude_may be an understatement.

They had managed to sneak into their first bar: after hearing many rumors told by many about bars that stroke their interest, from sketchy schoolmates to Gilbert's father, they had decided that the best way to understand was by firsthand experience. At least in this case.

And so they had made their way to a bar: meeting with each other late at night when their parents were asleep. They had been junior high students, with Antonio the only who knew how to drive at the time- the other two had fallen behind with getting their licenses, the epitome of procrastination.

They didn't try drinking, deciding that it was best to keep their wits so they could thoroughly examine the bar- as well as the fact that they were too young. Not that anyone noticed really, they had hit puberty at the time and most were drunk anyways. Those who were at their senses, like the bar keepers, didn't question anyone when they made it in the bar, assuming that the security at the doors had only let in those of age.

So they had wandered, open-eyed and drinking in the new sights and behavior, away from the dance floor and towards the actual bar.

And that was where they met her.

She had several emptied cups set next to her, waiting for someone to tidy the counter. Looking disheveled and definitely weary, she brushed a hand through her thinning hair. She resembled a percentage of the older females here. They wouldn't have spared another look at her hadn't she addressed them.

"Aren't you boys a little too- dunno, young to be here?" she slurred, nodding a head towards them to indicate that she was, indeed, speaking to them.

They halted their exploring and shared a look between one another; no one had really noticed them until now so it caught them a bit off guard.

"You look the age of my kid aren't you? Bet that your parents don't care 'bout you if they leaving you alone like this," Francis raised an eyebrow at her words: the three of them not the least amused, what did this woman know?

She stared at her drink as it swirled around in her cup and Gilbert stated, "Sounds ironic coming from you; you said you had a kid our age, so what are you doing out here instead of home with her and your family."

Her expression twisted to something dark, and they understood what she had been blocking out by drinking: anger.  
But despite her new demeanor, her next statement surprised even them.

"I hate her."

They stared back sadly: no one wanted to hear harsh words as these and it struck them a bit personally since her child was supposedly around their age.

Her knuckles whitened as she grasped the cup tightly, "What she has done to our family... I can't forgive her. Despicable," they hadn't ever heard a voice this bitter before- and it angered them. Turning to face them again she added, "You three wouldn't like her if you met her. Definitely not. It's not a surprise she has no friends anyway- pushing them away for good reason, really-"

"Stop," Antonio's face mimicked that of his friends; all three of them fed up with her antics.

"That is no way you speak to a lady," added Francis, borderline furious, his voice sharp.

"_Especially_ your own kid," Gilbert but in, "That's low and we're not going to hear it."

She gawked at the kids outburst for a moment, before she aggravatingly said, "You've never met her. Take my word on this one babes- she's not a girl worth your time."

She took another swig and the three composed themselves; they knew from past arguments that anger could cloud better judgment and that the calm one in a fight tended to be the victor.

"Wanna bet?" Gilbert grounded out.

"... Excuse me?"

"I bet," Gilbert smirked, an expression that would later be a trademark smile of his, "that if we got to know her- we'd become the best of friends."

She frowned as Francis and Antonio nodded along, liking this new idea of his.

_'Always the one with the crazy ideas...' Francis and Antonio thought happily._

She was speechless but the annoyance registered clearly on her face, "Wouldn't happen."

Not a doubt in her voice.

"And if we win this _bet,_" Francis joined in, "Then we'll take her out of your life."

"And you won't have to bother with her _horrible_ self again," Antonio mocked.

Her drink was forgotten and she stood up, only a little taller than the boys themselves, and they half expected her to strike out at them in her drunken stupor. "The only catch- is that I won't tell you who she is, or where she goes to school, or anything else- if you're so convinced that she's such an angel, then get to know her _yourself,_" She spat out.

They looked at one another worryingly, but still nodded along, their young eyes looking straight at her. Antonio decided to pull out at least a bit of information from her, "But do you live in this area?"

A nod.

Perfect; that means that she lived close by, and that her child must go to the same school as them- if not a grade under or higher than their own.

"Thank you. That's all we needed to know. We'll find her."

One more look was shared silently amongst the four before the trio turned- they were done for the day, and decided that they had seen enough.

But a few steps were taken before the lady mumbled, "If she doesn't die before then."

The words carried to them and they halted, fists clenched.

That was when Francis turned, taking her by surprise: the last thing she saw was a furious face before the view was replaced with his fist.

They had fortunately made it home without getting hurt themselves- leaving the only one with bruises being the rude mother. Those around them had to separate her from the trio, and the trio had been brought home to disapproving faces of their parents.

Francis had never punched a woman, not before nor since that one occasion at the bar all those years ago- not that anyone blamed him; and none of them had taken another step into a bar since then. It hadn't left a terribly good impression on them.

But they remembered.

They remembered the promise, and it took them a while to process that it was _you_.

That _you_ were the one they had made the deal with against _your_ mom.

"We have to go back," murmured Antonio, staring expectantly at Gilbert.

Without another word, Gilbert stepped on the brakes and the car was jerked around, back to the direction of your house.

-

No time was wasted on standing at the door knocking- they knew that no one was going to open it, and the muffled shouting only confirmed that.

Stomping their way quickly to the source of all the noise, they found you and your mother in your room. You were crouched against the wall, your mothers screaming had been loud enough that neither of you were alerted to their presence.

They didn't waste a moment to bounce straight into action: Gilbert and Antonio strode forward to apprehend her, dragging her away from you. She had startled and jerked a bit to pull away from them until she saw what was happening. She was confused as to why they all had come back, so she stood there puzzled for a moment.

Francis was standing next to you, but you weren't really responding. You were numb, still caught up in words, _lies_, told to you- to say the least, you were terribly exhausted. He wrapped an arm around your shoulder and helped you dazedly stand up.

"I'm sorry boys, can I help you?" Apparently she had snapped out of her confusion and she addressed them calmly.

"Just coming to keep up our end of the bargain," Gilbert stated with a dramatic sigh.

"We've missed you, lady! It's been _such_ a long time," Antonio felt his lips twitch into a smile.

The perplexed look she gave them was priceless and Gilbert couldn't help but smirk again, like all those years ago, "Have you forgotten so soon?"

"N-No," her eyes widened when things seemed to click in her mind: she had definitely seen that expression before, it wasn't one to forget, "It can't be- I, I won't believe it."

The other two had moved back to stand next to you and Francis- it seemed that you had fallen into a half-asleep stupor, awake enough to stand yet not enough to hear of what was occurring in your surroundings.

"But-, "Gilbert's smirk darkened slightly, his voice lowering, "It is. It's us, just as we promised."

"And a deal is a deal," Antonio crossed his arms, observing your mothers reaction.

Her hands were brought together and she fiddled with them, eyes darting across the room as she thought of a way out of this- whatever it was. The three had been long forgotten and deleted from her memory, just as they had almost forgotten about her. She had started to perspire- her eyes now shut tightly.

"What do you want to do now?" the smiles weren't easily concealed on the faces of the trio when they heard these words from the mother. She had given up now: they had won.

"Like I said, we're keeping our side of the bet."  
"And I believe we specifically said,"

They all said this at the same time, remembering the words, "'We'll take her out of your life.'"

Before she was allowed to protest Francis spoke up, "Uh uh uh, a deal's a deal. An odd deal, to say the least, considering you are her rightful guardian. But she should be turning eighteen this year, if she's not already- so you'll soon have no say in what she does." He looked around to his friends, "And as of now, _ is officially out of your life."

-

A bit of arguing had passed between the trio and your mother then- regardless of how she treated you, you were her only daughter and family left, but she knew of your plans to leave at the end of high school despite you never telling her. She knew it was inevitable. She had been ignoring that fact, pushing it to the back of her mind and living in denial.

And she_ had _made a bet.

Now you were currently asleep in the car as Antonio drove them towards his house. They had come to the conclusion that you could stay over at his for the time being- since Gilbert already was living with his father and brother, and he didn't want to think up an excuse as to why a girl was staying over, and Francis didn't want to get questions from his roommate _housemate?_ either.

Of course Antonio had eagerly volunteered- he wasn't living with anyone else in his small dorm this year, his parents had told him that he wasn't going to go to a dorm in college without some firsthand experience.

It was settled, and the three of them could finally relax. They still couldn't believe that they had found you, the supposed cruel girl, the one who no one would be friends with. And they had become friends with you without their knowing who your mother was. They had done it without even remembering the deal.

They had to go back and thank that teacher for his amazing grouping skills.

Gilbert and Francis had insisted on sitting in the backseat of the car with you as Antonio drove- their reasoning being that _'they had forgotten where his house was.'_ Of course they all knew it to not be true, so Antonio didn't complain when neither of them took the passenger seat- they usually always fight over that spot- and sat next to you.

After a bit of your head lolling, you had fallen asleep immediately when you got placed in the car and after a jolt from hitting a stray rock, your head had tilted to lie on Gilberts shoulder. They all smiled fondly at you- well, not Antonio, he was paying attention to driving because he's a safe driver.

Francis had started to play with your hair, singing a French song that calmed everyone down significantly, and at the end of it, he let his hand fall back down to his lap.

You stirred and blinked your eyes wearily; your eyes small slits that barely showed you your setting. In a tired voice that everyone recognizes as that tone of I-just-woke-up-what-is-happening, you mumbled, "Guys?"

They weren't sure how to break it to you, what just happened, and they didn't want to tell you when you were half asleep, so Gilbert and Francis shared a glance that asked the other what to say.

Antonio sighed, "Don't worry, and just concentrate on sleeping right now."

You turned your head to look at Francis questioningly, "Where are we going?"

He smiled wistfully and his gaze turned to the window.

"Home, _, we're going home."

* * *

**Authors note:**

**I'm actually pretty glad as to how this one turned out! The last sentence though. I died of so many fangirl feels, so lets all have a round of applause for my sister giving me that closing line~  
She's awesome, we just sit together and think up the basic plot and high five and squirm of fangirl feels and then I go and type it up into an actual story later c;******

And after you had fallen back asleep they all started singing Dora.

**_Where are we going?_**

*clap clap clap*  
Spains house!****

**  
Feel free to suggest things that you'd like to see in the story, and I'll see if I can add them if it doesn't affect the plot.**


	14. My things!

_A/n: Oh, in case you guys hadn't picked this up before, "..." quotes mean speaking while '...' mean thinking. Just clarifying that for you all. _

Previously, your mother caught the BTT as they were about to leave your house, and quickly dismissed them. When they left, it wasn't until they were halfway back home when they realized that you were that special little someone who they had made a bet to befriend all those years ago with your mother. So going back and reminding your mom, they were finally able to kidnap you take you away from the place you had suffered at for so long.

_Ughhhhhh_

You moaned tiredly as you felt yourself waking up from a long nights rest, shifting a bit in bed you thought, 'Definitely my least favourite thing to do... I feel like I could lie here and stay asleep all day and I'd be totally fine with that.' Needless to say, waking up was not something you enjoyed doing, really, especially on weekends. You know, since you found that the weekend was a time for sleeping in: And with the fact that the longer you spent sleeping, the longer you were able to avoid your mom and her wrath. With a sigh you burrowed into the soft, fluffy sheets of the bed and pulled the comforter closer around you.

Or at least, you tried to. Eyebrows creased and you tugged on the blanket some more... but it didn't budge. 'This is taking way too much effort than it's supposed to,' you made the connection in your mind, and slowly pulled yourself up into a sitting position, stretching your arms and yawning and trying to see through your tired eyes- rubbing them awake.

It was still dark in the room: at least it wasn't bright enough for you to see too much, though you could make out some outlines. And this most definitely was not your room. Your room wasn't _this_ large: Not that this room was very big, but you could tell that there was definitely more space than in your own. Your room didn't have a window to be able to see out, your room didn't have _that_ dresser or _that_ desk or _that_ rug, your room didn't have a door there, your room didn't have clothes and books scattered on the floor, your room didn't have a queen sized bed. _Heck, your room couldn't even really fit a queen sized bed in there if you wanted to be able to walk around freely._

You stopped stretching and looked around confused- you could feel your heart beating faster and you were positively more awake now than before. What is going on here? You tried to remember what happened yesterday for you to get into this predicament. Huffing and lying back against the bed, all you could remember was the trio leaving your house and your mom getting angry at you. Everything else was a blur of hugs and faint talking and bets and car rides.

But that explained nothing.

You scratched at your head and decided not to worry about it now, now the thought of getting up and investigating didn't really appeal to you as much staying in bed. Obviously, your mind was still hazy- had you been _thinking_ right now, you would have been more worried about your safety and more willing to find your way out of here. But you weren't. So shuffling deeper into the covers and getting ready for more sleep and-

What. Was. That.

You had almost forgotten that the blanket hadn't moved earlier, so you had decided to slide in more instead of pulling it closer... but... you felt something? Your hand poked at it from under the covers. It was set on top of the blankets, which was why you weren't able to pull them earlier, 'It must be pretty heavy if I'm not able to pull the blanket from under it.

Whatever it was.

You swiftly turned onto your side in its direction, but you couldn't really make out the outline... was that? No. It couldn't be. You pulled the hand that was poking it out from under the covers and stretched it out and you absolutely could tell what the thing was now. No, not really something, but _someone._

You pulled your hand back as the person shifted and you screamed.

"Eh?" you thought the person was starting to wake up but instead they just rolled over and draped an arm around you. You were grateful that whoever it was wasn't under the covers with you- heck you'd never even had a guy sleeping on the same _bed_ as you like this.

'O-Okay,' you thought nervously, too in shock to decide what to do, 'Reality check. I wake up, in a new room, lying next to some guy who has no respect for personal boundaries. _What is happening?_'

"Get off of me! Get off of me!" You said shrilly as you pushed the arm away.

"What's wrong," the voice mumbled, sounding nowhere near familiar to you.

He pulled his arm back as you scrambled away, almost falling off of the bed. The guy, you could tell it was a guy since the hair you had touched earlier felt short and well, obviously, he sounded like a guy, pulled himself onto an elbow as he started waking up. Rubbing at his eyes and yawning and all of those little things people do when they wake up from a night of rest.

But that really didn't matter to you.

You were now standing next to the bed and looking for a light to turn on and the first source of light you noticed just happened to be the lamp set next to the bed. It took a second to adjust to the light but when you could finally see, you quickly turned to see...

"Antonio?!"

"Yeah, _?" he said calmly, completely awake now and stretching the night aches away.

You couldn't help but stare at him in shock as he slid off the bed and made his way around the bed to turn on the light. Of all the people it could have been, it just had to be Antonio? You weren't sure whether you were surprised or whether you were a little expectant of this... whatever this was.

'What_ is _this?' you thought, still confused as to why you were here and not back at home.

"Did you sleep well?" He asked. You looked over to him and noticed that he was watching you with that smile that seemed to be permanently etched on his face, the one that was normally contagious to those around him. Normally, if you hadn't been so alarmed.

"Sleep well?" You stuttered on your words, of all the things he could ask you about, he was asking about whether you _slept_ well? "Yeah I did- but what am I doing here Antonio?" You shook your head when you quickly answered his question before jutting your own out there.

"What?"

"Exactly. _What_ am I doing here?"

He didn't really react as you expected and just laughed happily, "You're at my house!" It got awkward as his laughing died down and he noticed that you weren't laughing along with him, "You don't remember?"

You shook your head.

"Oh." He looked apprehensive and started to explain.

He wasn't sure whether Francis or Gilbert would want to be there when you were told of what happened, but he figured that it would be best to just tell you everything now and not waste any time later. He was planning to be busy having fun with his friends this summer, so the less time wasted now meant more time to hang around later.

So he told you everything. He told you about how they had almost driven halfway home before remembering something important. He told you what that something important was: that they had met your mom back in what felt like forever ago and made a bet that they'd befriend you and bring you home. He told you that they had come back to your house and saved you from a beating.

He told you they had taken you home.

"And that's what you're doing at my house now!" He ended cheerfully.

Silence befell the room as everything sunk in.

"So... you kidnapped me?" You chuckled at the thought and at Antonio's bewildered face.

He shook his head quickly, "No, it's not like that at all!"

You continued laughing as you walked towards the door, opting to get some breakfast. It didn't really bother you that you were staying here for the time being, you knew that you'd have to talk with the trio about what was to happen with you later, but until then you were going to enjoy your stay.

"It's fine Antonio, really," you turned to face him, standing a few steps away from him and much closer to each other than before when you were on the opposite end of the room. He stood staring at you for a moment and after an awkward silence you playfully asked, "Well? Are we going to stand here all day or are we going to get something to eat?"

"Oh yeah!" He jumped and made his way to the door, passing you and opening the door. He moved out of the way and held the door for you, dramatically waving a hand motioning for you to go out, "Ladies first!~"

A dramatic curtsy was returned to him and you walked out the door, "Thank you my good sir!~"  
And you both made your way down the hallway towards what you assumed was the kitchen, you were just following Antonio really, it wasn't like you exactly remembered what the small apartment looked like from last night. It's a bit difficult to remember things when you're passed out.

A thought came back into your mind as you both entered the kitchen, him going to the fridge to get some food and you sitting down at a counter, "Hey Antonio?"

His eyes flashed to you for a while, not wanting to spill any milk he was currently pouring into a cup, but just enough for you to know that you were paying attention, "Yes _?"

"Why were you sleeping next to me anyways?" you asked a bit suspiciously.

He shrugged like it was normal and chuckled. He passed you the glass of milk and said, "You were cold."

"That's ridiculous," you countered, but didn't argue any further.

He sensed that you were doubtful, considering the roll of your eyes and the rest of your body language that clearly rejected his excuse, "No really! You looked so lonely and it always gets cold at my house at night and the couch is so uncomfortable to sleep on anyways."

You smirked at him, tauntingly.

"And I didn't get under the covers with you!" He stated as if it was his greatest accomplishment- Which, you thought, actually might be for all you knew.

"Antonio. It's almost the _summer._ You can't use that excuse in this case..."

He suddenly smiled, "Actually, it _is_ the summer!"

"What?"

You looked at him questioningly, because you still had another day of school. You still had to go to school and give your teacher the completed project today if you wanted to past the class tomorrow... but that was yesterday... Which means that you were supposed to go to school today- and yet here you are, eating breakfast with Antonio? You eyed the clock on the oven, which taunted you by showing that it was an hour after noon. School was more than halfway over, the last day of school. Today. And you were sitting here.

The project.

You shot out of your seat frantically, "But what about the project Tony? You know, t-the one that my grade is basically depending on?" You huffed anxiously as you made your resolve, "That's it. I've got to go there now... I've got to get the project to him... I've got to-"

Antonio gently set a hand on your shoulder and stopped your frantic onslaught of words, "You don't have to worry about that. No one's going to miss us on the last day of school and the other two are turning in the project for us." You had stopped to listen to him, "And they'll be coming over here first thing after school."

He didn't have to explain who the 'other two' were; it was terribly obvious he was referring to Francis and Gilbert.

You sighed and nodded, relaxing under his hold, "Thank you, Antonio."

He smiled understandingly back, "It's nothing, really. It was the least we could do."

You both sat back at the counter to finish breakfast, calm silence fell alongside the dust- now visible due to the rays of light shining through a window.

No words were shared to interrupt the calm atmosphere, everything silent except for the light clinking of spoons against bowls.

The day was spent with you and Antonio dawdling around the house as you waited for the school day to end. You would have thought that he'd start to get bored with you after a while of waiting- that you would have run out of things to do, but you both had managed to stay entertained. It amazed you how many things one could do to pass the time and you had to admit that you were grateful for that.

He had shown you around his small apartment, most of it packed away in boxes, because he reminded you that he was moving into a dorm with the other two when the school year was over. Or at least that had been what their original plan was until you came along... "Don't worry, we'll talk more about it later today." He said, and "No, you're not inconveniencing us, you're alright!"

And the topic was left at that.

After showing you around, you both had went outside for a walk, then settled in his backyard to help him pick out weeds in the garden- as he explained that he not only grew tomatoes but a variety of vegetables ranging from carrots to potatoes, and then went back inside to play a game or two of cards.

Feeling a bit exhausted, you both had sat side by side on the couch to watch television, flipping from channel to channel as he searched for one of his liking. He stumbled upon one of your favourite shows and you couldn't help but shout out for him to stop. Yet he kept going as if you hadn't uttered a word.

"Antonio?" He kept on flipping through the channels with an almost bored expression, he was slouched next to you on the couch as he leaned on one hand- the other obviously operating the remote. You sighed and went along with it, thinking that maybe he was searching for something specific to watch with you, but he didn't stop. He just. Kept. Switching. Channels.

And it was getting a bit on your nerves so you turned to him again, waving a hand in front of his face this time in hopes of capturing his attention, "Yoohoo... Antonio..."

No reply.  
Blank expression.  
Channel flipping.

He yawned and your frowned deepened; it was almost like he was ignoring you, but you had been on fine terms before? What was he up to? Turning your attention to the TV again you saw him _finally_ stop at a channel- and you didn't care what the channel was about, you were just grateful that he had finally stopped the random flipping and a smile flickered on your face.

_Flickered._

Flickered, as in one moment you were smiling and the next you huffing at Antonio's behavior. He had started changing the channels. Again! You quickly twisted to face him with a what-the-heck-is-going-on look; he was getting on your nerves and... oh. He was smirking.

Of course he was smirking. He was teasing you? That's what you assumed at least, since that was the exact look he had on when he was surrounded by his other companions, the look he gave when they had done something hilariously sly. His expression flitted from blank to devious as he struggled not to give himself away.

How did you miss it before? The strain to keep a straight face was terribly obvious to you now.

You couldn't help it as your frown slowly stretched into a smile, shaking your head in disbelief, "I can't believe you!" You gave him a playful push and his resolve broke- laughing himself breathless at how he had managed to stir up your emotions. He could barely defend himself as you threw a pillow at him, hoping that he'd stop his laughing- and that ended up turning into a small pillow fight and almost escalated into a full out _war_.

_*Ding Dong*_

Almost.

At the sound of the tell-tale noise, Antonio quickly turned to you and loudly whispered, "Act casual!" And with that you both scattered.

Both of you were still smiling mischievously and breathing hard from the past fight, though trying to hide it, as Gilbert and Francis entered the living room: they too were laughing from whatever conversation they were having and you wondered if these three did anything else but be _happy_.

Their conversation died off as they saw you two; Antonio had 'casually' lied down on his side on the floor, an arm holding his head up, almost in a paint-me-like-a-french-lady style, while you had dramatically slouched on the couch. And you were both staring intently at the TV, on the last channel you both had managed to stop on- an infomercial.  
_  
"Do you have difficulty staying warm in the winter?" A woman's voice asked as it showed various people dramatically shivering, one of them somehow managing to harshly poke her eye in an attempt to stay warm._

The two shared a look as they sat down, Francis asking, "Uh. You guys doing okay?"

"Oh you know, same old same old," Antonio replied cooly as you stifled a giggle with a nod.

There was a short silence, no other sounds in the room than that of the television, as someone thought of something to say. Eventually, Gilbert made the effort to clear his throat, asking, "Sooo, why exactly are we watching an infomercial?"

And that was all it took to get you and Antonio to burst out in laughter.

Francis couldn't help but feel a smile tug at his face, "You two act just like children."

After taking some time to tell you about what happened at school- which actually turned out to be nothing of much importance to you. They turned in the project, said goodbye to some of the classmates they didn't think they'd see again after graduation, and flirted with some girls. Same old same old.

Francis went on to tell a story about this one lovely individual that started flirting heavily with him, saying things about how 'they're meant for each other' and how she would 'do anything for _him_'.

"The crazy thing is," Gilbert said as he leaned in and harshly whispered, "She already has a boyfriend!"

Antonio scoffed at the antic and you mimicked him. 'Well, that's enough drama for me today,' you thought to yourself solemnly. Solemnly? Why were you upset about something like this? Either way, you didn't need to hear about this part of their day, so you zoned out.

Eventually that conversation dwindled away from that topic and you listened in when they mentioned your mom. They explained to you what happened, telling you of how they remembered meeting your mom in the past and about how rude she was; they told you of how they came back to your house to find you crying and your mother screaming.

They told you of how they took you away.

You were grateful to understand what had happened now, but there were some loopholes in the story. You didn't understand why your mom agreed or why they came back for you, but you weren't one to pressure for more information.

The trio hadn't told you about the bet, you see, they had decided to leave that part out. It was just that they didn't want you to think that the only reason they were friends with you was because of a silly deal, when you were so much more to them.

"So now you don't have to go back to your mom anymore!" Antonio stated.

Home?  
You wouldn't have to go back home anymore?  
Where would you go now?

You had been planning to move out anyhow, yes, but you weren't prepared for that now! You still had to find a job to pay for the rent and food and... what was going to happen to your mom? Sure she wasn't the kindest mother out there now but you knew that she once had the best intentions for you-

"_, _!" your rambling was cut short by Gilbert and you looked up at him as your voice died down.

'When had you started speaking that out loud?'

"There's no need to stress," he assured you, his comforting red eyes looking at you. Heck, they all were looking at you with such kind expressions- ones you never would have dreamed of being on the receiving end of before.

"But... I would be asking for too much if I stayed at Antonio's!" you protested, if you were going to stay somewhere other than your home, you were going to earn your keep, "He's moving out with you three anyways, and I need a job to-"

You were silented when Francis waved a hand and stated, "Oh please Cherie, stop with all the rambling! Is so unattractive to go on about things that do not need worrying about. See, that's why we're all here; to talk about what you want to do." He shared a glance with his other male friends, waiting for their nods telling him to carry on, "We had an idea of what to do though. The place we were looking at just now is awfully large..."

Gilbert let out a dramatic sigh, "An extra room, you see."

"It would cost too much for us to pay for alone, too," Antonio joined in, "If _only_ we could fine another awesome dorm mate to stay with us..."

Oh now they were just getting ridiculous, all of them were smirking expectantly at you and you huffed out a small laugh after a short moment, "You guys aren't subtle in the least."

"Is that a yes?" Francis quickly asked, as if he expected you to reject them. He started batting his lashes very quickly and slowly leaned towards you chanting, "Please please please-"

And you couldn't help but let out a stream of giggles at his ministrations, nodding as you brought your hands to push Francis away, "Stop... stop Francis! Of course I will."  
Smiles where shared throughout the room and you felt a warmth spread through you- a feeling you hadn't experienced since your father was alive.

"And you don't have to worry about your mom, she's done fine on her own so far, I'm that she'll be fine with you living on your own," the mood changed when Antonio mentioned your mom, your smile flat lining, "You were planning to move out anyways?"

"I don't see why you care about what happens to her anyways," grumbled Gilbert, "I mean, I know she's your mom and everything, but after all she put you through..."

You suddenly took defense and retorted, "Exactly. She's my mom. I still love her despite..." you didn't know how to put your thoughts to words. Heck, you weren't sure if you wanted to. "Besides, I don't really blame her."

They looked at you sympathetically and Francis asked, "What do you mean _you don't blame her?_"  
"It's not your fault," Antonio pointed out as Gilbert agreed.

You shook your head, thinking of how to explain. You knew it wasn't your fault, but you couldn't bring yourself to place the blame on your mother either. It wasn't her fault. Could you blame it on your dad? For dying? Or blame it on those boys for being careless and needing to be saved? That was it though. It wasn't anyone's fault that things were the way they were, you had long stopped searching for someone to take the blame and just accepted things as they came.

But how were you to explain that? You weren't sure they'd understand, it still confused even you after all. You would have to tell them about what happened with your father for them to possibly comprehend, and while you may have been hesitant on telling them this before, they had definitely proven themselves as trustworthy friends...  
So you opened your mouth to tell them the story, when you all heard a thumping noise. Someone was at the door.

"Oh! That must be..." Antonio leapt up to get the door as you all shared puzzled looks with each other; his last words had been lost in his rush to the door. It wasn't until the two guests walked in that you all stood to greet them. Francis flashed _that_ smile, "Oh Arthur! Long time no see, non? "

Arthur gave him a small scowl, "I just saw you at you school... and we live together..."

Before any other quips could be sent back, the other person interrupted- and you recognized him as Alfred, "We brought the things! Just like you asked!" He gave you a playful nudge, "We've got you covered dude."

Okay. Now you were just puzzled. Everyone seemed to be in on what he was talking about, since they all nodded in understand, leaving you to understand what was happening. "What do you mean?"

"Huh?" Alfred asked, and seeing your baffled expression he said, "No one told you?"

You shook your head.

"Well, Francis gave Arthur a call and asked him to pick up your stuff from your mom's house, which is really weird by the way; he could have called me first. I don't see how he expected Arthur to pick up anything, he's pretty wimpy compared to me-"

Arthur slapped his hand over Alfred's mouth, "You're rambling." He cleared his throat, "I wasn't sure if I needed help carrying your things so I called Alfred and Ivan to help me out."

"Ivan?" that name wasn't familiar to you.

He nodded as Antonio finally came into the room, a large person trailing in behind him carrying a couple of boxes. You all watched Ivan set the boxes down gently near the hallway that led to the bedroom you woke up in this morning, set next to a few of Antonio's own boxes.

He dusted off his hands and walked over to complete the circle everyone had moved to stand in- there was a small silence until gilbert clapped his hands together, "Soooo, introductions!" He nodded to Alfred and Arthur, "I believe you know these two already, from that last party."

And you did. Well, only Alfred- his kindness from that day was hard to forget, but Arthur wasn't ringing a bell. You stared at him for a moment when it clicked together. You had to stifle a laugh at the memory of a drunk Arthur all that time ago. So you simply nodded, not trusting your voice to speak the confirmation.

"And this is Ivan," He waved towards the tall boy, who seemed much too dressed for this type of weather, a lightly colored scarf wrapped around his neck and a warm smile lighting his face; one that immediately made you think of a huge cuddly teddy bear.

He waved a gloved hand at you, and you couldn't help but be a bit surprised that he had a Russian accent, "Hello! Is very nice to meet you _. I've heard a lot from my friends about you."

You smiled and gave a greeting back, happy to be getting to know more about the trio's friends. Arthur stated that they couldn't stay for longer though, that they had just enough time to drop off your things, so they made towards the door to leave.

Before they left, they seemed to remember something and Ivan said, "There is graduation party this weekend at the beach. You should come, da?"

You were hesitant; parties still weren't really your thing. Yes, last time had been fun, but you had spent most of the time away from the crowd and with the trio.  
"We'll make it!" Agreed Gilbert before you could put in your two cents, flashing Ivan a thumbs-up before he turned to leave.

And that was that.

A day or two went by with you staying over at Antonio's, giving you enough time to find a job in a little café down the street from the future dorm. And it wasn't long until you all spent a whole day moving boxes from house to another, and eventually, you all had moved into the dorm.

The next day was spent unpacking and finalizing things. The dorm was fairly large, just as they had mentioned. It was in an apartment style place, one door that led to where they lived. Inside, there was a small hallway that led into a combined living and dining room, that then led to a longer hallway with four doors. Two on both sides- and each took one as their own and started unpacking their things.

You all were exhausted by the end of that, but were glad that you had managed to move in before the weekend party.

* * *

_**A/N:One of my readers had requested that I explain what happened with readers stuff, while another requested some Russia.**_

_**And well.**_  
_**I tried.**_

_**Sorry that I haven't updated in a while, life has been busy, but I beleive I'll be updating more quicker, since I want to start writing more fanfictions and at this rate it'll take me forever haha. **_

_**Feel free to leave suggestions of whatever you want and I'll consider it!**_


	15. Just like her

**Previously, you woke up to find yourself at Antonio's home, are brought your belongings over by Ivan, Arthur, and Alfred, and were invited to move into their new dorm with them- all in time for the graduation party.**

* * *

You took a shaky breath as you fiddled with the shirt you were wearing, pulling at it and straightening wrinkles, then running a brush through your hair again, for good measure. 'That's as good as it's going to get,' you think to yourself, regarding your appearance in the mirror. You were currently standing in your bathroom, getting ready for the graduation party you all were invited to- in a few minutes you were all to leave.

And you were nervous.

It hadn't completely clicked in your mind earlier that it was to be a beach party. Not that you had anything against parties- or the beach really for that matter, but it was the ocean that left you feeling a bit uneasy. Ever since the... situation with your dad, you hadn't been too fond of large bodies of water. They made you edgy. But you had already told Ivan that you would be there, and the trio was expecting the same of you as well- and you didn't want to be rude or seem suspicious.

The three boys had gifted you a swimsuit, after you mentioning that you had never really been interested in swimming before when you lived with your mom so you never thought to buy one, finding it ridiculous that you didn't like to swim- stating that _everyone_ loves the water. But you had uncomfortably shrugged and given them a smile, you wanted to tell them why you weren't fond of the water, but then hadn't seemed like the time.

So now you were wearing the swimsuit, not sure how you felt about the boys knowing your size, but you had to admit you were relieved that, despite what those from school would expect from them, they hadn't bought too skimpy of an outfit. Sure, it was a bikini, but they had included swim shorts and a swim shirt; saying they didn't want to make you feel uncomfortable at the party just because of what you were wearing. The simple gesture shot a warm feeling throughout you, and you felt cared for. It was then that it had really struck you that _'Wow. I have friends. Friends who _care.'

And that became the biggest reason for you wanting to go with them today.

"Come on, _, stop being such a girl and hurry up!" you heard Gilbert shout at you from outside of your door.

Giving yourself a quick smile in the mirror, you quickly turned to leave, "Fine, fine- you all should be glad that I don't take as long as some of those others at school do!"

-

You were now on your way to the beach, all of you easily fitting into Gilbert's car with Gilbert himself driving, Antonio claiming passenger seat, and Francis sitting next to you. Their outfits were as basic as yours, swim shorts and a casual t-shirt they could easily pull off whenever they decided to jump in the water. There had been excited chatter at the beginning of the ride, mostly shared by the three of them with you listening in and adding a comment or two when you felt it appropriate, but it had eventually died down into a content silence as you gazed outside. The sun was quickly setting, and the more you approached the beach, the more you could see the flickers of torches already lit up in preparation for the after dark bit of the party.

"_?" you turned to face Francis, looking at him in reply of him calling your name. He was resting on his hand while his arm was placed on the open window- he looked very relaxed.

"Yeah, Francis? What is it?" you gave him a simple smile and he responded with a similar one.

He shook his head, still smiling admirably at you, "Oh, it's nothing really. It's just..." He seemed to pause in thought, pulling the words in his head together before saying, "Thank you for being with us."

You stared at him, puzzled as to what he was talking about- you'd say it was his accent that was confusing you, but it definitely wasn't that. You had no idea what brought this on.

Antonio chuckled, "Oh, don't mind him. He's just being all sentimental right now."

Gilbert laughed along with Antonio, "Yeah, we really are just glad you're with us. Life would be a lot... different-?"

"Unexciting," helped Francis, leaning forwards with a finger in the air, sitting straight up again excitedly.

And Gilbert nodded, "Yeah, life would be a lot more unexciting without you here." They all grinned at you, with the exception of Gilbert who kept his gaze on the road, and you couldn't help but feel your cheeks lighten slightly- you weren't very used to this much appreciation.

"Thank you so much guys, honestly, my life wouldn't be the same without you all either," you mumbled shyly- and you_ were _grateful. You thought about this often, every night when you lie your head down in bed- the bed that was now in your room in your own apartment, about how fortunate you were to have met them, to have befriended them, _to have moved in with them!_

It was so very unexpected, and definitely something that had pulled your life from its downhill spiral up into a more positive outlook. When people said things got better, you hadn't believed them- were there many out there that did believe it wholeheartedly? The saying was all just lies and whispers of comfort others told to one another to keep the hope of the future brightening, of things getting better- or so it had seemed. But those thoughts were long gone, forgotten, and all there was now was the fact that things did get better, and you were glad that you had hung on this long. That you had held the hope of _'Things get will get better.'_

It was a frightening thought that you could have never met them. If you had gone through with the thoughts that used to plague your mind- well, let's just say you weren't sure how they'd react if you told them that they had saved your life.  
Literally.

The car pulled to a halt as Gilbert parked it, merely a walking distance from the beach and the already hectic partying happening down there. They eagerly jumped out of the car and you all started on your way there, running and sliding and playfully pushing one another down a little sand dune- then pulling off sandals that filled with loose sand anyways and tossing them aside near a group of sandals and flip flops discarded by other party goers.

You recognized most of the people at the party, being that you all did go to the same school- and as expected from any other senior finally graduating from high school, everyone had smiles on their faces; If not simply because of having fun at a party, then because of celebrating the end of the year. But there wasn't really anyone you'd feel comfortable going up to and initiating a conversation with, so you decided that you'd stay with the infamous trio until someone else decided to come speak with you. That is, that had been the plan until...

A girl seemed to have caught the boys eyes and quickly walked over- a girl with shoulder length blond hair, curls that bobbed up and down indicating that she hadn't taken advantage of the ocean yet, and a very fitting pink bikini that flattered her body- you recognized her from a class of yours, you weren't sure which one, possibly science or history, but in all honestly people's faces and classes tended to blend a bit.

She gave you all a polite smile, "Hi guys!" And you didn't miss that she didn't mention you, probably because she didn't know your name, and you couldn't say you blamed her, considering you didn't remember hers either, "I'm so glad you guys made it, everyone's been waiting!"

The boys replied with an equally kind greeting, and they had a short conversation with her- but it didn't really concern you so you easily got bored and your attention wandered to the crowd, eyes sifting and looking through the people here. A thought in the back of your mind wondered if you'd find Al here- and you'd wonder if you'd ever see him again. It wasn't very common to run into people after graduating, you assumed, and you silently wished you had gotten your friends number in order to stay in contact.

Your attention was brought back when the girl latched onto Gilbert's arm and, giggling, pulled him away, running towards the ocean. "Where are they off to?" you asked, puzzled at the sudden leave of a person in your group.

Francis snickered, "Were you not paying attention, _? She invited us all along as well...-"

Antonio butt in, "She said she needed a surfing partner, and our friend there is pretty good at it, so they're off to ride the waves now." He slid a hand in a motion that mimicked the waves and he grinned at you.

"Psh, who needs him anyway?" Francis stated playfully, "We don't need Gilly to have fun, non?" And Antonio and you nodded, amused, and you all continued to mingle amongst the others. You all waltzed through the dance section, chattered with a few people that came and went, and were going to head off to grab a drink.

Though, you three were intercepted when a girl stopped in front of Francis, and she seemed very familiar to you- even more so than the one who took Gilbert away. You looked her over once more and it clicked- the dark orange, almost red hair pulled into two long side ponytails, the vivid sky blue eyes, and a brightly colored pink bikini accompanied by a bright blue skirt that flattered the pink of the swimsuit... it was Al's girlfriend.

You both shared a smile, though you weren't sure if she still recognized you and you eagerly looked around for Al- because surely he would be here if Olivia was? But he wasn't anywhere in sight.

Bobbing lightly with the music, she swept straight over to Francis, pressing a hand to his ear in a dramatic I've-got-to-tell-you-a-secret motion and he leaned down slightly to accommodate her. Antonio shared a look with you, already knowing how this was going to end, and it wasn't even a full minute later before Francis giggled at whatever she said and dismissed himself, saying that, "This lovely _his naturally flirty tone and a wink_lady has invited me to go with her and some friends on her boat-"he gestured to a boat sitting on the beachside, already crowded around by people looking forward to a ride, "but I will be back, no worries, mes amis!"

And what else was there for you both to do except wave him away and wish him the best?

He looked a bit guilty to leave, it was very hypocritical considering the conversation you all just had about Gilbert- but it was rude to reject his friends' kind invite. And you had to admit, you were still concerned with Olivia's being here without her boyfriend. You had a flashback of the first time you met her-  
_  
"Alfiee!~" Olivia giggled and squealed as Al brought her in for a kiss._

"We're like that yin and yao stuff, huh?"

Olivia giggled, a light sound filling the air, "Yang, Al. Yin and yang. Yao is the name of your Chinese friend, silly!"

"Yeah, nothing could break those two up." Matt added in nonchalantly, "At least, that's what Al always says. For a guy who seems like he couldn't give two shits about others, he's pretty in love with that girl."

And you didn't know what to think about Olivia and the way she acted around Francis- maybe that was the way she was around most guys? That... sounded a bit dangerous for a solid relationship, though. You had at least expected Al to be here- considering how attached he seemed to be with her; but you decided not to worry about it. It wasn't your place to butt in, so you let it be. If there was something wrong, you figured Al would come and tell you, it was what friends do after all, right?

So you didn't let yourself get too discouraged that Francis had been dragged away, because Antonio was still with you, and it wasn't like the other two had too much of a choice than to leave. Antonio and you had gone to walk alongside the beachside, falling into a comfortable silence again, kicking sand and sometimes stepping into the shallow bit of the water. You were slowly getting more and more okay with the water, feeling especially comforted with your friends company, and you were now fine with walking ankle deep along the shore. Not much, in anyone else's opinion, but it was quite a feat to you.

A particularly large wave pushed water higher up your legs and you squealed, pattering swiftly back to the sand. Antonio chuckled at your antics and you looked up in time to see Francis wave at you from the fast moving boat- the cause of the small wave. He was laughing, a huge grin plastered on his face, holding tight to the railings and you waved at him, only a little shaken from the sudden surprise of _water_- and after the boat moved by, a flash of white caught your eye. You smiled at the view of Gilbert surfing, the other two weren't joking when they said he could work a surf board.

You continued walking along the shore with Antonio though, if not a little further away from the water.

But yet again, it wasn't long after another girl looked up from where she sat in the sand, this one with shorter brown hair, large sunglasses set atop her head, and a dark blue bikini that flattered her body as well- it wasn't that she was supermodel skinny, it was just that what she wore went well with her. It also helped that self-confidence practically radiated off of her, even if she may not be the most beautiful lady here, she seemed like a very pleasant person to be around- simply because of how comfortable she was with herself, and you internally wished you had the same confidence. You hadn't even taken off the shorts or swim shirt yet.

Waving you both over- or maybe she was just waving to Antonio, you couldn't tell; nevertheless, you both made your way over to her. She patted the sandy ground, "Sit down and join me!" Antonio immediately agreed, surprisingly very excited to be building sand castles and sand figures. You looked over what she was working on, and decided that you were tempted enough to join them. So you knelt down and the three of you worked on building a sand castle.

It was getting darker now, leaving the torches to serve their purpose and lighting up the crowd of teenagers, including the three of you working- dedicated to making the sand castle, though you didn't speak much- or at all really- as you listened to Antonio and the girl conversing. You were listening, but you weren't really paying attention to what they were saying.

Eventually, you watched as Gilbert walked out of the water, wet and carrying a surfboard under one arm, the blond girl trailing next to him. You would have approached him, but it would have felt awkward to be under the other girls' gaze- you would have felt like you were imposing on them- imposing on _something_. So you let them be.

Then you watched as the boat Francis was in pull in to shallow water with a low purr of the engine, and watched as Francis assisted Olivia and a few others pull the boat back, closer to shore. They were laughing and splashing and giggling and it didn't feel right to go join them either. They were further out in the water than what you felt comfortable being in anyways.

It was now that you believed that you didn't fit in here- the feeling starting as an unpleasant lump that formed in your chest and spread to create a familiar choking in your throat. Breathing heavily, you tried to remember that the others had wanted you to come, that they had invited you along with all of the other party-goers and that their leaving wasn't done on purpose to make you feel uneasy. But despite reassuring words you tried to tell yourself- you still felt like you stuck out like a sore thumb.

You sighed and stood up, wiping sand off on your shorts and by patting your hands together to let the gritty particles fall to the ground. Antonio and the girl looked up at you questioningly and you stated that you were going to go get a drink and wander around- leaving off that you were feeling that you were just making things awkward for them as well.

Antonio said for you to do whatever you wanted, the point of being here was to have fun after all, and they both waved you goodbye happily.

You slowly walked towards the drink section, deciding to get something to wash down the feeling of constriction; despite knowing that sensations like that couldn't be drowned away, your mother being model proof of that. Sighing, you admitted to yourself that maybe- maybe this party wasn't as exciting as the last one. You thought that they were going to treat you the same way as they had at the first party, but instead they had been easily distracted by other people. Maybe this proved to you that they were more comfortable with you? That they were more okay with letting you go off and enjoy yourself on your own?

Comforting yourself never really was your forte.

You felt naïve that you had thought this party was to be like the last, and your first party experience was starting to look more and more like a distant occasion. It had been but a few weeks since you had befriended them, but a few weeks since the infamous project, and yet it felt like you had known the boys personally for years.

It was hard to remind yourself that they may not feel the same way.

It wasn't until you took another _another?_ sip of your lemonade that you realized you now had a drink in your hand- and you shook your head after realizing that you had zoned out and your body had gone into auto pilot mode, still knowing to head towards the drink table and get you something despite your thoughts drifting away from that task. You found yourself wandering along the outskirts of the party now, not too far away from everyone else, and you had to admit that it was almost calming.

"Hey, _!" a voice shattered the silence and you turned to see a small group of five or so girls walking towards the beach. The one that you assumed called your name was lingering back, waving a hand in the air with a girly motion that was to call your attention, "Come over here and join us!"

You froze- suddenly feeling choked up at the memories of years before when your own friends would call out you, to memories that left a bittersweet taste in your mouth.

A few of the other girls had caught on and had started to wave you over as well, with shouts of "Come on!" "It'll be fun!" and the more explanatory "A friend of the bad touch trio is a friend of ours!" led by a stream of giggles.

"I-I'm coming!" you shouted with a hand raised to your mouth, stuttering over your words and overwhelmed by the feeling of acceptance. Scrambling, you set your cup down and ran over to them, enthralled that maybe- maybe things were going to be okay again.

-

A few minutes were spent meandering along the beach, giggling and gossiping and playfully pushing one another. Though you didn't really contribute to the conversation, finding the gossip interesting and at other times simply ridiculous, you didn't stop yourself from laughing along with the rest of them, trying your hardest to fit in.

It wasn't long until two of the girls seemed to spot something up ahead, running past everyone with excited gasps, "Check it out!"

You were pulled alongside the other girls as they ran to see what the commotion was about. Feet scrambling through the sand, slipping and stumbling as they tried to keep their balance on the unstable texture. Their excitement was intoxicating to you, a warm feeling that spread from your toes to the permanent smile plastered on your face.

Everyone slowed down, reaching the destination, and despite the fact that everyone was trying to catch their breath, ooh's and ahh's still echoed through the cold night air. And it wasn't long until you noticed where you were now- or rather, what you were now standing on.

A pier.

Something you, and apparently these girls as well, hadn't noticed until this moment. You felt the adrenaline of the run wearing off, and your smile faltered. It was difficult to try to push away the fact that you were standing over water and the only reason you weren't in the water _(falling drowning dying stopping)_ was because of a thin, wooden barrier.

"Come on in! The water's fine!" Your attention was brought back as you watched some of the girls cannonballed and dove into the water and- oh. The water was deep enough for them to _dive_ into. And to you, that was deep. Very deep, and you were never more grateful for a plank of wood in your life. Feeling a little safer on the landing, you inched closer to the edge to peer down at your friends.

The last girl abruptly ran past you and jumped in, grinning wildly and accidentally splashing you with water- wetting the boards with a little wave and sending you scrambling back to the middle of the pier. You took slow, deep breaths in an attempt to calm your racing heart- why you were so hesitant about being around water astounded you; it wasn't you who drowned. The only way this affected you was because of your father, and that fact made you feel weak.

You hoped that the children your father saved were faring better.

"Come on in, the water's great _!" one of the blondes called to you.

"No, I-I think I'm fine over here," you shouted back, inching backwards towards the shore again.

Your behavior caught the attention of a few of the girls and they drifted towards you, some preferring to hold onto the pier rather than wasting energy wading in the water. The blonde pouted, "Aww, are you going already?" She seemed to have noticed your slow retreat to the shore.

But you didn't want to be rude, and the girls honestly looked disappointed that you were so willing to readily leave them. And you had to admit that you were slowly adjusting more and more to the pier, finding it almost as grounding as the shore. You still weren't comfortable enough with the water to jump in, but maybe you could cope with sitting on the edge for now- not completely joining them, yet not completely leaving them either.

"I guess I can stay for a while," you said, crawling towards the edge again and towards one of the corner posts you intended to lean against, "But I'd rather not swim right now, if that's alright." You mentally slapped yourself thinking, 'What do you mean _if that's alright_!? What if they insist?'

But before panic could settle, the girls had nodded and said you were fine where you were and thanks for staying when you could have left and the trio were right, you weren't half bad. You weren't sure what to say to that.

It was fun though, watching them swim around and play; diving under the water and coming back up shortly later, and it was entertaining to guess where they'd resurface next. Different games were played and they eventually calmed down- some treading water while others held on to the pier, sharing conversations among one another once more.

Before you knew it, your feet were dangling off of the side, kicking lightly and soaking your legs with water. It took a few minutes for your death grip on the pole to relax, your whitened knuckles turning back to their normal skin tone, and you understood why everyone loved to swim. Water was refreshing.

"He totally doesn't know the difference... between..." you looked up at the person who was talking, and you wondered why they had stopped, why their words slowly died down- why everyone had suddenly stopped speaking. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but clamped them shut again after what looked like hesitation.

Now that you looked around, everyone seemed to be looking at you, and you felt your hair stand on edge, suddenly nervous. They weren't threatening looks, no, not at all. Most of them seemed to be repressing giggles and laughter, some clamping hands over their mouths and others faces twitching and tight lipped. "Uh, guys?" you tried to chuckle at their antics, because surely they were just teasing you, but it sounded more like a winded outtake of air.

Then, in a rush of air, two people ran past you to jump into the water but before you could identify them you were swept up into a pair of arms. The person spoke, voice loud due to how close you were to them, "Oh no! Why is such a pretty lady sitting alone on the deck, when she looks perfect right here in my arms?"

And only one person you knew could speak to you with such flirty exuberance.

You blinked your eyes, still a bit disoriented at all that happened, "Francis?"

A low chuckle sounded from next to you and you tilted your head away from Francis to look at where Antonio and Gilbert rested their arms on the pier. "Who else would say such a lame joke?" you heard Gilbert snicker, trying to get a reaction out of his friend.

Francis paid him no mind, though it did lead to some high pitched giggling from the ladies.

You turned your attention back to the situation at hand- not being able to touch the floor frightened you, but you had to admit that you felt safe in Francis's arms. You shifted slightly, afraid that if you moved too much, you'd accidentally slip from his grasp and fall into the water; but his hold was sturdy. You felt yourself relax into his chest, not paying mind to the conversation around you anymore and-

Your eyes widened.

Oh. You had almost forgotten that boys went swimming shirtless, Francis definitely being no exception. You froze, and for a moment you were unsure about whether he was feeling as uncomfortable as you were. Before remembering that, well, he's Francis and after staying with him for a week or so at the same dorm you caught on that it took a lot to make him uneasy.

When he started to walk towards the edge where Gilbert and Antonio rested in the water, all other thoughts evaporated, leaving only the gnawing fear of the water beneath you.

"Ready!?" Francis hollered, and you scolded yourself for not paying attention to their conversation before, now at a complete loss as to what was occurring.

"Guys?"

"Don't worry, frau, we'll make sure you don't drown!" Gilberts words were meant to be funny, but they only served to throw you into a panic as you realized what the Trio intended to do.

Antonio waved his arms in the air towards him, "Throw her in now!"

You made an unpleasant sound as Francis waved you back and forth in his arms, as one would cradle a crying baby though the intentions now were clearly not the same, getting ready to throw you in the water. By the time you found your voice it was too late, "NonononoNO, Franci-!" and the water was approaching too quickly and there was no pier to separate you and no pole to hold onto and-_ silence._

All of the chattering and laughter drowned out by the water, just like what you expected to happen to yourself.

_You've had dreams like this before, dreams where you watched your father drown or dreams where you died alongside him. Drowned by the water._

But no dream could have prepared you for the real thing. It was one thing to imagine it, and yet another to experience it. The adrenaline was blinding- _or was it the fact that you were drowning that was blinding? You couldn't tell anymore._

Not weren't sure which way was up and which was down, your stiff limbs carrying you where you would have expected was _down, further from the surface_, but it could just as well have been up. Whichever way you were going, it didn't matter to you, as long as you were still under. Your limbs kicked and flailed and you felt like you weren't achieving anything and you hadn't expected your movements to be slowed down so much in the ocean.

You missed the easiness of motion you had back on shore, and your lungs burned with longing.

It must have been just a few seconds before you were suddenly pulled up _and you could breathe again_ onto the pier. Rolling onto your hands and knees, you coughed and threw up water, dry heaving and crying when you could breathe normal again. You felt a hand rubbing along your back in a comforting motion, and you were grateful for it. It kept you connected to what was happening now.

Embarrassed, you wiped your tears away before looking up and facing everyone. They were all crowded around you, girls huddling around with concerned looks on your face and the trio kneeling down. Antonio retracted his hand from your back when you had turned to face them. Mixed emotions flitted across the boy's faces, ranging from confusion to concern to anger and back again.

Gilbert was the first to speak up, teeth clenched in what could have almost been an angry growl, "Why didn't you tell us? Why didn't you say anything? We wouldn't have thrown you in if we knew you couldn't swim!?"

You shook your head, "I can swim."

"Could have fooled me," he scoffed.

Antonio butt in before it could blow into a larger argument, "Are you okay, chica?"

You stood up, still shaken up from the ordeal but feeling well enough to stand on your own. All you wanted was to get off the pier. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine," you whispered.

"What happened back there?" one of the girls questioned, lightly placing a hand on your shoulder. You recognized her as the one who had called you over to join them in the first place, and now you weren't sure whether you regretted that decision or not. Heck, maybe it would have been better if you had just decided to stay at the dorm.

You shook your head again, unsure of how to explain without telling the whole story: and that was out of the question. You knew how to swim, it's not like your parents didn't teach you or anything before... before your father died. It was just a little hard to maneuver in the water or remember anything about swimming when you were in full out panic.

"Nothing."

"Please, you can talk with us," she nodded and looked at the other girls to back her up, and they nodded in agreement as well, "It's okay-" the girl started before you furiously cut her off.

You didn't like all of the attention, and you hated how they seemed so sure of themselves in their 'We can help you' state of mind. "I said nothing!" Your arm shot to the side, intending to push her hand away from your shoulder but instead, a sharp noise echoed through the air. Everyone fell silent- and it almost reminded you of being encased by the water. It was almost as silent as drowning.

You hadn't meant to hit her. Your mind had been elsewhere.

The trio grew furious, stepping closer to you Gilbert questioned, "What is wrong with you? What do you think you're doing?"

"Stop overreacting," Francis stated blandly, his tone low and dangerous.

Antonio inspected the girl's reddened, shocked face before turning to you and giving you a disapproving frown. Not something you had ever hoped to be on the receiving end of. The trio didn't take well to any of their friends getting hurt.

"I- I didn't mean to-" you stuttered.

"You didn't have to," Started Antonio, "You don't have to be mean."

Your arms were folded across your chest, trying to cover your heavy breathing. "What happened is no one's business," you said through clenched teeth.

"They were just trying to get along," uttered Francis, "And you repay them by being rude?"

"I said," you glared at the boys, enunciating each syllable, "that's it's none of your business." You then turned to leave, ready to go back home and hoping that the boys weren't intending to do the same thing.  
You didn't really want to be around others at the moment.

"You're as bad as your mom."

The words were uttered in a low voice, almost a whisper that carried straight to your ears and resonated deep inside of you. It caused you to halt, standing on the edge of the deck and almost onto the sand, the words repeated over in your head. What were you supposed to say to say to that?

'Surely the saying 'like father, like son' didn't just apply to males, it applied to mothers and daughters too?' You thought to yourself, 'I shouldn't have come here. I need to go back- they won't want me staying with them at their dorm. This was all a mistake and I need to pack up and disappear and _you're as bad as your mom._'

Shoving hands in wet pockets you carried on forward, and without another word, you were gone.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Tell me what you think, guys! And how to improve, if you have any suggestions. ****And if you see a grammatical error, do tell, because I don't ever edit these /is lazy**

Feel free to suggest things that you'd like to see in the story, and I'll see if I can add them if it doesn't affect the plot.


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